Marshalls Government Wins Confidence Vote over al-Sayyed
The government of the Marshall Islands on Tuesday defeated a motion of no confidence brought after it nominated Lebanon's former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil al-Sayyed as its ambassador to UNESCO.
The motion from opposition leaders in the Pacific nation's parliament was defeated by 17 votes to 13 after more than four hours of acrimonious debate.
It followed the Marshalls' surprise nomination in December of al-Sayyed as its representative at the Paris-based cultural arm of the United Nations.
The nomination -- which would reportedly have given him diplomatic immunity -- was withdrawn in February after it received international media attention.
Opposition senator John Silk said the Marshalls' international standing had been hurt by the affair, with the government only withdrawing the nomination after "the damage to the country had already been done.”
Marshalls President Christopher Loeak announced a cabinet reshuffle on Monday in which he moved the minister responsible for the nomination, Phillip Muller, from the foreign affairs portfolio to health.
Al-Sayyed spent four years in Roumieh prison on suspicion of involvement in the Feb. 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive bombing on the Beirut seafront.
He denies any involvement and claims to have been subjected to arbitrary detention.
The assassination was initially blamed on al-Sayyed and three other Lebanese officers suspected of being close to Syria, but the Special Tribunal for Lebanon set up to try Hariri's killers has since indicted five Hizbullah members.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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