Posted on 03/14/2005 7:51:50 AM PST by prairiebreeze
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of anti-Syrian protesters flooded central Beirut Monday in what witnesses said was Lebanon's biggest demonstration since former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri's killing exactly a month ago.
Flag-waving crowds from across Lebanon packed the capital's Martyrs' Square, near Hariri's grave, and swamped nearby areas to demand an international inquiry into his death, the sacking of Syrian-backed security chiefs and a total Syrian pullout.
In contrast to previous anti-Syrian 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.
"We demand to know who killed Rafik al-Hariri," said Mustapha Mrad, a Sunni demonstrator carrying a Lebanese flag with a Hariri badge pinned to his jacket.
Organizers said a million people had joined the protest. No independent estimate was available, but witnesses said the rally looked even bigger than last week's pro-Syrian demonstration organized by Hizbollah and attended by hundreds of thousands.
Men, woman and children formed a vast sea of red and white -- the opposition colors -- as they thronged the square and streets all around. They stood in hushed silence for two minutes to commemorate Hariri, a billionaire philanthropist.
They heard their leaders heaping blame on Syria and its allies for the assassination and demanding a Syrian pullout.
"You want the truth? It's clear... the world and Lebanon know them (the killers) well, know them one by one, name by name, rank by rank," said Marwan Hamadeh, a Druze opposition MP who escaped an assassination attempt in October.
Syria has denied any involvement in Hariri's killing.
"I ask his excellency the president (Emile Lahoud) to meet the demand of all Lebanese: resign and let us rest," Christian politician Carlos Edde told the crowd to wild applause.
Protesters in trucks, buses and cars jammed Beirut's eastern and northern entrances as they headed for the city center near the sea front. Some even arrived by boat to avoid the traffic.
"Syria out" and "Sovereignty, freedom, independence," the crowds chanted. One placard read: "We want the truth: Who killed Hariri?" and another said: "May God curse your killers." RIVAL RALLIES
The opposition rally came a day after huge crowds turned out in the south for an anti-U.S. demonstration called by Hizbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim political and military group allied to Syria.
The Beirut protest could be the last of a series of rallies used by each side of Lebanon's political divide to show their strength. Political sources said fears were growing that street agitation, though peaceful so far, could spill into violence amid rifts over Syria's role since Hariri's assassination.
They said the authorities were pondering a ban on future demonstrations to be enforced by the Lebanese army.
Lahoud and other loyalists have called for an end to the protests and urged the opposition to join a political dialogue.
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, said before flying to Washington for talks with President Bush that "muscle-flexing in the street" should be ended, warning of the protests' negative impact on stability and the economy.
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 four intelligence offices in the north and were preparing to leave others, witnesses said.
U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen held talks with Syrian and Lebanese leaders over the weekend and said Syria had promised to pull out all its troops and intelligence agents in line with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559.
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.
The Beirut protest could be the last of a series of rallies used by each side of Lebanon's political divide to show their strength. Political sources said fears were growing that street agitation, though peaceful so far, could spill into violence amid rifts over Syria's role since Hariri's assassination.
And this:
Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, a key opposition mentor, said before flying to Washington for talks with President Bush that "muscle-flexing in the street" should be ended, warning of the protests' negative impact on stability and the economy.
Sounds like they are trying to cool things off a bit...
It's gotta kill Reuters to report this. They were so damn gleeful when the rent-a-mob for Hezbollah was there last week.
Oh, smooth move. They should ponder what'll happen if they try it.
Last week some of the FOX reporters were attacked by the rent-a-mob.
Lebanese opposition protesters wave Lebanese flags as they stand on a roof to watch the crowed of protesters below during a demonstration in Beirut Martyrs square, Lebanon, Monday March 14, 2005. Many thousands of Lebanese people answered an opposition call for a massive protest to demand a full Syrian troop withdrawal, resignations of security chiefs and an international investigation into the death of former Premier Rafik Hariri.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Still has this inane discussion point listed:
On Tuesday, half a million people were demonstrating in the streets of Beirut, chanting and waving flags. If you only gave the TV a quick glance, you probably assumed that they were protesting against the Syrian presence in Lebanon. In fact it was a rally organised by Hezbollah in support of Syria, but for almost a month now — since the assassination of the former prime minister Rafik Hariri — the newspape Click for more
Do you agree with the argument put forward in this article? 57 % Agree 43 % Disagree
Wow. That is awesome.
Yeah, the pro-Hezbollah rallies were mostly filled with angry, frustrated (sexually probably as they were separated from the ladies on opposite ends of the rally) scruffy Muslim males, whereas the true pro-Lebanon/freedom rallies are filled with clean-shaven young folks and babes.
Why are we talking about this triviality? Michael Jackson just showed up at court! -- Fox News rationale.
You are right. The left was very happy to see all those Hezbollah supporters protesting, because it meant maybe Bush was wrong, the Lebanese really like to be oppressed. I guess the Lebanese are sticking it up to both the Herbollah, great courage and the liberals.
I fight for her!!!
I have always wondered where so many people find the time to attend all these rallies. I mean, aren't they supposed at work or school or something?
Radio free Eurpoe says 500,000 to 1,000,000...
That's the problem in everyday America. There is a mass of people who don't have these concerns who become a loud minority while the silent majority works. Have a rally for the good guys today? No problem... the media will ignore it and the left will hold ten more rallies for the cameras.
In this case, it sounds as though the Lebanese consider their freedom from Syria to be enough incentive to leave their jobs for the day in a show of force. It doesn't matter how much you "have" if you don't have your freedom.
LOL, notice that Reuter's called it "Hizbollah's right to bear arms" ROTFLMCO! That's the first time Reuters has ever worried about that particular right.
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