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Lebanon protests continue; opposition wants troops out
Tuesday, March 01, 2005 | No comments posted.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Hundreds of protesters blowing whistles and chanting anti-Syrian slogans returned to central Beirut today after forcing out the pro-Damascus prime minister, and Lebanon's president sought candidates for a new government.
About 400 people marched through downtown demanding the resignation of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and the withdrawal of Syrian soldiers. On Monday, 25,000 flag-waving demonstrators demanded - and got - Prime Minister Omar Karami's resignation.
"We will be here every day until the last Syrian soldier withdraws from our land," one activist said through a loudspeaker. The crowd, blowing whistles, chanted back: "Freedom. Sovereignty. Independence."
Opposition leaders - a diverse group of Muslim, Druse and Christians - were expected to meet later today to chart their course. It wasn't clear if they would seek to keep up the street pressure or - as some have urged - step back to work through the political process to ensure a new government less tied to Damascus.
Elsewhere in the country, shops, businesses and banks reopened after a one-day strike Monday to protest the Feb. 14 assassination of former prime minister and billionaire businessman Rafik Hariri, whose killing was the catalyst for the massive, peaceful protests demanding Syria release its military and political hold on Lebanon.
Syria keeps about 15,000 troops in Lebanon and all key political decisions get a stamp of approval from Damascus, but pressure from Lebanese as well as from abroad, including the United States, has led to talk of a troop withdrawal.
About 400 people marched through downtown demanding the resignation of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and the withdrawal of Syrian soldiers. On Monday, 25,000 flag-waving demonstrators demanded - and got - Prime Minister Omar Karami's resignation.
"We will be here every day until the last Syrian soldier withdraws from our land," one activist said through a loudspeaker. The crowd, blowing whistles, chanted back: "Freedom. Sovereignty. Independence."
Opposition leaders - a diverse group of Muslim, Druse and Christians - were expected to meet later today to chart their course. It wasn't clear if they would seek to keep up the street pressure or - as some have urged - step back to work through the political process to ensure a new government less tied to Damascus.
Elsewhere in the country, shops, businesses and banks reopened after a one-day strike Monday to protest the Feb. 14 assassination of former prime minister and billionaire businessman Rafik Hariri, whose killing was the catalyst for the massive, peaceful protests demanding Syria release its military and political hold on Lebanon.
Syria keeps about 15,000 troops in Lebanon and all key political decisions get a stamp of approval from Damascus, but pressure from Lebanese as well as from abroad, including the United States, has led to talk of a troop withdrawal.
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