Lebanese Druze leader and leading opposition figure, Walid Jumblatt, on Thursday called on Syria to force the resignation of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. "I appeal to the wise men in Syria, with Bashar al-Assad at their head, to rid us (of Lahoud) by obtaining his resignation," Jumblatt told the Lebanese Future Television, a channel previously owned by the late premier Rafik Hariri. Jumblatt stressed that the opposition will not take part in the upcoming government "because we refuse to cover up their crimes, the assassination of Hariri and the attempt on Marwan Hamdeh". The opposition has blamed the February 14 killing of Hariri on Lebanese and Syrian intelligence. Hamadeh, an opposition member of parliament, was injured in a car bomb attack inOctober. Calls for Lahoud to resign have lately increase from among opposition figures. Lahoud was elected president by the Lebanese parliament in 1988. His term was extended for three years in 2004 under what was seen as Syrian pressure on deputies to approve a constitutional amendment. ---SP 2344 Local Time 2044 GMT
