BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday rejected Syria's arrest warrants against prominent MP and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt who has called for regime change in Damascus.

Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion, proposed by the anti-Syrian majority in the house, rejecting the warrants.

"The Lebanese parliament denounces the arrest warrants ..., considering them anti-constitutional and harming the dignity of parliament and the Lebanese people that it represents," read the motion.

"Since (the warrants) are rejected in form and content, parliament has decided to reject the demand," it said, in effect nullifying the arrest warrants in Lebanon.

On May 24, the Lebanese government also rejected Syria's warrants against Jumblatt, warning that such steps would not help improve the already tense relations between Beirut and Damascus.

Two days earlier, a Syrian military magistrate issued an arrest warrant to detain the Lebanese MP that was handed on to Interpol.

On May 3, Jumblatt, who has parliamentary immunity in Lebanon, was summoned by a Syrian military court to appear within seven days on charges of "inciting against Syria".

Jumblatt is a key member of Beirut's parliamentary majority which has accused Damascus of involvement in a series of bombings, including the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.

In December 2005, Jumblatt called for regime change in Syria.

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