Prime minister forms Lebanon government

BEIRUT -- Lebanon's prime minister formed a new government yesterday, boosting chances that a general election can be held on schedule, in line with demands by the international community and anti-Syria opposition.

In a key concession to the opposition after seven weeks of deadlock, Najib Mikati -- a wealthy telecommunications executive with close ties to Lebanon's longtime political master, Syria -- said he would immediately seek the removal of pro-Syria security chiefs. ''I demanded the resignation of the security chiefs when I was [just] Najib Mikati. Now I'm prime minister, and I will relay my point of view to the Cabinet. . . . I promise that it will agree with me," Mikati told reporters.

Composed of several businessmen and technocrats, Mikati's 14- member Cabinet must win a confidence vote in Parliament and steer through the assembly an electoral law, all within 10 days, if the polls are to be held by the end of May.

''This government will . . . begin shaping the future in this short period," Mikati said. ''The government will hold parliamentary elections in the fastest possible time and, God willing, within the constitutional period."

No Cabinet minister will run in the election, which has been facing possible delay after the Feb. 14 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri threw Lebanon into its worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Mikati, a friend of President Bashar Assad of Syria, was appointed last week after winning surprising support from opposition legislators.

Lebanon had been without a Cabinet since Mikati's predecessor, Omar Karami, resigned Feb. 28 in the face of street protests over Hariri's killing. Karami, a staunch Syria ally, was reappointed but quit again after failing to form a government.

Opposition figures cautiously welcomed the Cabinet, though some are reserving judgment until after it declares its program. Mikati had secured the opposition's support with his pledge to seek the removal of the security chiefs, one of its key demands along with an end to Syria's 29-year military presence and an international inquiry into the bombing that killed Hariri.

Syria has withdrawn most of the 14,000 troops it had in Lebanon and has promised to be out before April 30. Witnesses said at least 100 Syrian military trucks crossed into Syria overnight, leaving fewer than 1,500 troops in Lebanon.

A United Nations fact-finding mission into Hariri's killing had reported that international investigators probably would not be able to do their job if the security chiefs stayed in power.

In a sign that Mikati is serious about holding timely polls and cooperating with investigators, he named retired security official Hassan al-Sabaa, a moderate, as interior minister and respected judge Khaled Qabbani to head the Justice Ministry.