Lebanese minister quits over assassination

Lebanese Tourism Minister Farid Khazen quit today following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, saying the government was not capable of running the country at this crucial period.

He his resignation conforms with “my convictions and my sense of national responsibility.”

It was not clear whether his resignation would affect the Cabinet of Prime Minister Omar Karami, which has been under intense public pressure to step down.

It takes one-third of the Cabinet – 10 ministers – or the prime minister himself to quit in order to dissolve the Cabinet.

The anti-Syrian Lebanese opposition has been calling for the resignation of Karami’s government.

The opposition blames the government and its Syrian supporters for the assassination.