Lebanese people carrying national flags arrive in Beirut to attend a rally held by pro-Syrian groups December 1, 2006. (Jamal Saidi/Reuters)
Posted on 12/01/2006 7:24:31 AM PST by NYer
A sea of flag-waving protesters demanded on Friday the resignation of Lebanon's Western-backed government at a Hezbollah-led rally, but Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appeared unmoved by the pressure.
Pro-Syrian Hezbollah and its allies had called on Lebanese from across the country to take part in the opposition protest in the capital Beirut, to be followed by an indefinite sit-in near the government offices.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has branded the government a U.S. puppet.
"I call on the prime minister and his ministers to quit," Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun said to the cheers of protesters in downtown Beirut.
"We want a clean government," one banner read. "Siniora out, we want a free, free government," the crowd chanted.
Large numbers of security forces, backed by armored troop carriers, were deployed. Scores of soldiers, using barbed wire and metal barriers, cordoned off the complex housing the government's offices in downtown Beirut.
Siniora and many ministers were inside while less than 30 meters away, the crowds gathered, waving red-and-white Lebanese flags under banners demanding a government of national unity.
Hezbollah television station al-Manar said hundreds of thousands had turned up, and Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Kassem said before the protests the campaign would continue until Siniora's cabinet fell.
"This government will not take Lebanon to the abyss. We have several steps if this government does not respond but I tell them you will not be able to rule Lebanon with an American administration," he told Hezbollah's al-Manar television.
Hezbollah has criticized Siniora's cabinet over what it says was its failure to back Hezbollah during the July-August war with Israel.
"The government was negligent during the war. That's why we want a national unity government," Ali Aboud, from south Lebanon, told Reuters.
"We're here to bring down the government. We, the resistance, don't want any influence from the United States," opposition supporter Najwa Bouhamdan, 41, said.
SINIORA DEFIANT
Siniora said on Thursday his government would not quit. The anti-Syrian politicians who control the cabinet say the Shi'ite Muslim group and its allies want to stage a coup.
The government was weakened last month by the resignation of six opposition ministers and the November 21 assassination of anti-Syrian Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel.
His funeral drew tens of thousands into central Beirut, with many mourners accusing Damascus of being behind the killing.
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, the most prominent anti-Syrian leader, urged supporters to remain calm and avoid street confrontations. He said Hezbollah wanted to instate Syrian and Iranian tutelage over the country.
"Very calmly, we will remain steadfast," he told a news conference on Friday. "We will confront (the opposition) calmly. We will remain in our houses and fly the Lebanese flags... We will wait for a month, for two months... and watch them."
Many Lebanese fear protests could turn violent. Tension between Sunni Muslims and Shi'ites is high, as is bad feeling between Christians who support leaders allied to the rival camps.
The anti-Syrian camp accuses the opposition of aiming to bring down the government to derail an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, whose killing in 2005 many blame on Damascus.
Syria denied involvement but was forced to pull its troops out of Lebanon in April 2005 by international pressure led by the United States and France and huge anti-Syrian protests.
A U.N. inquiry has implicated Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the killing. Siniora's depleted cabinet approved U.N. plans last week for the Hariri court.
You reap what you sow. I do not support the government stepping down BUT I have always viewed that aligning with Hizbollah was a bad idea from the get go.
Then surely, Hezbollah is the govt for you.
Wow, a Lebanese rally supported by Syria and Iran, aimed at removing the government. We better pull out of Iraq as soon as possible!
Good. The current gov't is a Syrian puppet harbring Hezbollah. They are directly responsible for the woes of Israelis and the Lebanese.
I'm theeeeeeeeeenking of a hot white light that stays lit for about 30 seconds a few hundred yards above this Iranian menace in Beirut..........no explosion, just the light....it would be enlightening to jihaddists across the globe.
My best guess is that for 2007...you will see governments of Lebanon and Iraq dissolve...with two or three countries carved out of Lebanon, and at least three...maybe four out of Iraq. Neither of these two countries are capable of survial and it seems that Syria and Iran both stand receive the break-up virus version 2.0 in 2008/2009 period.
If you examine look at a 3-country division in Iraq...the Sadar dimwit ends up with the hotbed of Muslim radicals next door to Iran, who have been his best buddy. Alot of mullahs in Iran will see the Iraqi mullah as a natural leader and discontent in Iran will be fertile for Sadar to move into the Iran. Around 40 percent of Iran is becoming anti-Mullah and complaining about the economic future of the country.
Syria isn't any better. Count on oil reaching $120 a barrel in two years. We need to buddy up with the Russian guys. The future isn't that great for the middle-east.
They infer that the democratically elected government should quit because a large minority opposes them.
Reuters apparently feels that the government elected by the majority should do what the minority wants as long as they yell loudly enough, and use violence to achieve their aims.
Well, you know, this looks
like democracy at work.
I think most Arabs
support Hezbollah.
And that's fine. They make their choice.
We should respect that
and grant them their wish
to empower their terror friends.
Then we should bomb them . . .
I don't think that's accurate. Hezbollah and Syria want to replace the present government with one that's a puppet.
The guy who won in the last election was quite pro-Syrian. Remember all the statement of support towards Hezbollah and how Lebanon didn't help the Israelis one bit?
Spiraling down into the abyss.
What?
Are the unhappy that the elected official whom they haven't yet murdered refuse to die too?
Did they ever find the ex PM's assasin?
Hezbollah is backed by Iran and Syria? Well it's a good thing that we're going to be asking Iran and Syria to help stabilize the region then. :)
You'd think this would be getting more attention. It was all over the news this morning. I thought it would be the big story of the day.
It should be the big story, very troubling. I think another horrible civil war is inevitable for Lebanon.
Well, you know, thing is,
this geopolitics stuff
has to compete with
all the press reports
of Britney without panties . . .
No one wants to die
in terror attacks,
but if Britney's leaving cars
flashing reporters,
it is pretty clear
what Friday conversations
will be focused on . . .
There was a large outcome oof people at this rally, and its because some of their demands are legitamate. Im not trying to say hezbollah should take control, on the contrary i hate them and they will destroy lebanon. But the current western-backed government(apart from the Lebanese Forces christian party) were all syrian collaborators. They are all corrupt, they have lifestyles fit for billionaires. When you see how much debt lebanon is in, it is because of those people, they stole money from the government for 15 years and that is why they are resisting an audit which is called for by the pro-syrians. They are both bad, but the lesser of the two evils is definately the western-backed government and not this opposition.
Thank you for the post! (Are you aware that the New York Times quoted you several months ago? :-)
In any event, allow me to introduce you to freeper 'Patrick K' who resides in Beirut. You share similar views of this situation and your joint contributions to this forum are most welcome. Thank you, again!
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