Lebanon deal provides breathing space

By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent - Analysis

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Qatari-mediated deal to defuse Lebanon's political crisis has averted civil war and will calm tensions until next year's parliamentary poll, but leaves the country's deep-seated divisions unhealed.

The pact signed by rival Lebanese leaders on Wednesday after six days of talks in Doha meets the Hezbollah-led opposition's persistent demand for veto power in the cabinet, resolves a dispute over the electoral law and will enable parliament to elect army chief Michel Suleiman as head of state on Sunday.

"There had been a major risk that the country would go up in flames and that has been averted," said Sami Baroudi, a political scientist at the Lebanese American University.

"This stabilises things and gives a breathing space for everyone to reconsider their positions and engage in dialogue."

Lebanon's 18-month political crisis turned violent this month when Hezbollah and its allies, angered by two cabinet decisions, executed a swift military offensive in and around Beirut that routed Sunni and Druze partisans of the government.

The humiliation suffered by the Western-backed government forced it to concede the opposition's insistence on a big enough share of cabinet seats to veto decisions it dislikes.

"It's not a proper solution by any means and doesn't address the root causes or grievances that led to this crisis in the first place," said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, an expert on Hezbollah.

"The deal was a product of the armed clashes, which clearly tilted the political balance in favour of the opposition."