GameTavern - Protesters Back on Beirut Streets

Quote:

Protesters Back on Beirut Streets; U.S. Offers Support

Hundreds of protesters waving Lebanese flags returned to central Beirut Tuesday to demand Syria leave Lebanon as the United States and France offered to help the country hold free elections.

Officials began a complicated search for a new premier after two weeks of unprecedented protests forced the pro-Syrian cabinet of Prime Minister Omar Karami to step down Monday, piling pressure on Damascus.

Market fears of a political vacuum put the Lebanese pound under intense pressure, forcing the central bank to dip deeply into its foreign exchange reserves to defend the currency.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) welcomed what she called moves to restore democracy in Lebanon.

"Events in Lebanon are moving in a very important direction," she said in London. "The Lebanese people are starting to express their aspirations for democracy... This is something that we support very much."

Rice and French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier repeated calls for Syria to withdraw its 14,000 troops from Lebanon. Such calls have grown louder since the Feb. 14 assassination of ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri.

Washington and Paris, co-sponsors of Security Council resolution 1559 demanding an end to foreign interference in Lebanon, called for general elections planned for May to be free and fair and suggested international assistance.

"They must have the opportunity to chart their own course through free and fair parliamentary elections this spring, bolstered by an international observer presence prior to and during the elections," the countries said in a joint statement.

Thousands of demonstrators turned a square in Beirut into a sea of Lebanese flags Monday night and exploded into riotous celebration when the government unexpectedly quit after a parliament debate on Hariri's killing.

GROWING HOPES

The jubilant protesters left in the early hours of Tuesday only for a few hundred to return hours later, vowing to keep up their street protests until Syrian troops left the country.

"Our hopes are growing regarding Syria's exit after the resignation of the government," Patrick Risha, a 22-year-old political science student told Reuters at Martyrs' Square. "This encourages us to stay here and continue our protest."

Most of the opposition protesters are Maronite Christians, who have long opposed Syria's role in Lebanon, Druze and some Sunni Muslims. Shi'ite Muslims, Lebanon's largest community, have mainly stayed away from the anti-Syrian rallies.

"The Lebanese popular will has triumphed... but this is not enough," main opposition figure Druze leader Walid Jumblatt told Reuters Television at his mansion in the Chouf mountain.

"The next step is to have an interim government to supervise the elections and the results of the elections, which will determine the next government which will in turn execute the Taif agreement with the Syrian government," he said.

The Taif Accord that ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war called for a redeployment of Syrian troops to eastern Lebanon, followed by agreement on a timetable for a full withdrawal.

Syria's ambassador to London, Sami Khiyami, told BBC radio that his country stood ready to discuss any troop withdrawal or redeployment with the Lebanese authorities.

Newspapers hailed the role of the Lebanese in trying to bring change. "People power brings down Karami's cabinet," the headline in Beirut's English-language Daily Star newspaper read.

"And Syria should consider what is happening in a somber manner and not thwart the ideals demonstrated by Lebanon's youth: It is, indeed, the time for change," it said in an editorial.

The country's top two pro-Syrian officials, President Emile Lahoud and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, were in contact to discuss a new government, officials said. Lahoud was set to call for consultations this week with parliamentary deputies to choose a successor.

Democracy is on the march in the Middle East. It looks like the domino effect has begun.