Hundreds of Thousands in Lebanon Protest Syria
By REUTERS
Filed at 6:26 a.m. ET
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in central Beirut on Monday in the largest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanon since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri exactly a month ago.
Flag-waving crowds from across Lebanon gathered in Martyrs' Square in central Beirut, just meters away from Hariri's grave, to demand an international inquiry into his killing, the sacking of Syrian-backed security chiefs and a total Syrian pullout.
Unlike previous anti-Syrian opposition protests since a bomb blast killed Hariri on Feb. 14, many Sunni Muslims joined Druze and Christians in taking to the streets. Hariri was a Sunni.
The opposition rally came a day after huge crowds turned out in the south for a anti-U.S. demonstration organized by Lebanon's Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah group, an ally of Syria.
Organizers of the Beirut protest say it will draw hundreds of thousands to the central Beirut square that has seen daily protests demanding a full Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.
It could be the last of a series of demonstrations used by each side of Lebanon's political divide to show their strength.
Political sources said fears were growing that protests and rallies, though peaceful so far, could spill into violence amid deep political divisions over Syria's role since Hariri's death.
They said the authorities were pondering a ban on future demonstrations to be enforced by the Lebanese army.
President Emile Lahoud and other loyalists have called for an end to the street protests and urged the opposition to open a dialogue to seek ways out of the political crisis.
Last week hundreds of thousands of people gathered in central Beirut to support Hizbollah's right to bear arms and to thank Syria for its role in Lebanon, where Damascus has kept troops since intervening in the country's civil war in 1976.
Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, a key opposition mentor, called on Sunday for an end to ``muscle-flexing in the street,'' warning of the protests' negative impact on stability and the economy.
CAUTIOUS WELCOME
Washington, leading the calls for Syria to withdraw its forces from the country, said it welcomed promises by Damascus to do so but wanted to see deeds, not just words.
A Lebanese security source said Syrian forces were expected to complete the first stage of a two-phase pullout in the next two or three days.
The source said more than 4,000 Syrian soldiers left Lebanon last week while 2,000 to 3,000 were redeploying to the eastern Bekaa Valley. Syria had 14,000 troops in Lebanon before announcing a withdrawal plan on March 5.
The Syrians vacated at least two intelligence offices in the north and were preparing to leave others, witnesses said.
U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen met Lebanese leaders and opposition figures on Sunday to discuss a Security Council resolution which calls for foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon and the disarming of all militias there.
After talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday, Roed-Larsen said Syria had promised to pull out all its troops and intelligence agents in line with the resolution.
The envoy said he would present U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week with details on a timetable.
Syrian troops left most of their posts in Mount Lebanon, northeast of Beirut, overnight. Some crossed the Syrian border, where several hundred Lebanese showered the departing soldiers with rice and flowers, witnesses said.
Washington, which wants the Syrians out before Lebanon's general election in May, cautiously welcomed Assad's promise.
As the Beirut protesters converged on Martyrs Square, they chanted: ``Syria out'' and ``Sovereignty, freedom, independence.'' One placard read: ``We want the truth: Who killed Hariri?'' and another said: ``May God curse your killers.''
Many Lebanese and the opposition have blamed Syria for the killing. Damascus has denied responsibility. |
