(Recasts with boycott announcement)

By Tom Perry

BEIRUT, March 25 (Reuters) - Lebanon's anti-Syrian government said on Tuesday it would boycott a March 29-30 Arab summit in Damascus because of Syria's role in blocking the election of a new Lebanese president.

The Beirut government blames Syria and its Lebanese allies, led by guerrilla and political movement Hezbollah, for the crisis that has paralysed government and left the country without a president for the first time since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

"Based on the injustice that Syria has subjected Lebanon to (and) in light of the vacuum in the presidency ... the council of ministers decides that Lebanon will not take part in the Arab summit in Damascus that is scheduled for March 29-30," the government said in a statement after a cabinet meeting.

The statement described the boycott as "a regrettable precedent that has been imposed on us", noting that Lebanon had never before stayed away from the Arab meeting.

Lebanon is at the heart of a conflict between Syria and Saudi Arabia -- which supports Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet and also blames Damascus for the crisis.

Saudi Arabia has decided to send its permanent Arab League representative to the Damascus summit -- effectively a snub of a meeting that should bring together heads of state.

Like Saudi King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is also not expected to attend the summit. Both Arab powers are key allies of the United States, which also supports Siniora's government and accuses Syria of meddling in Lebanon.

Syria's allies in Lebanon accuse the governing coalition of being no more than tools of U.S. foreign policy and say that Washington has derailed initiatives to resolve the conflict.

Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud's term ended in November.

The rival Lebanese alliances have agreed that army chief General Michel Suleiman should fill the presidency, which is reserved for a Maronite Christian according to Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system.

But his confirmation by a vote in parliament has been held up by a dispute over seats in a new cabinet and a new parliamentary election law.

The governing alliance has refused to yield to the opposition's demand for effective veto power in government.

Parliament had been due to convene on Tuesday to elect Suleiman but the session was postponed on Monday to April 22 in the absence of any deal. It was the 17th official postponement of the presidential election. (Additional reporting by Nadim Ladki; Editing by Caroline Drees)

AlertNet news is provided by