Lebanon prepares for mass protests (Fri)

[jannyk]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3CA55E35-0FFE-4CBC-A6DC-9DF76ECA00C5.htm

Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Beirut after Hezbollah-led opposition groups called for mass protests to bring down the current government. The call for peaceful street action came on Thursday in a statement broadcast on Hezbollah's television station Al-Manar.

Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese president, told UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper that he was confident that the protests would not be the beginning of violent confrontations between supporters of the various political factions.

"All we hope is that whatever happens on the streets will be peaceful because Lebanon has had enough war.

snip

In a related development, Michel Sleiman, the Lebanese army chief, has called on his men to "stand ready" to maintain public order in case of mass demonstrations in Beirut. In a statement he said: "I call on all soldiers to stand ready to maintain freedom of expression while preventing disturbances to public order."

[jannyk]

1. BBC - Lebanese PM vows to defy protests

Thousands of troops and tanks - does not bode well for a peaceful demonstration...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6197240.stm

<< Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has said his government will not be brought down by mass protests planned by pro-Syrian opposition groups. Speaking live on national television, Mr Siniora said: "We will not allow any coup against our democratic system."

Thousands of Lebanese troops and police have been deployed across central Beirut to tighten security.

As well as a heavy troop presence in the centre of the Lebanese capital, ground forces, backed by tanks and armoured vehicles, have also taken up positions at the main entrances to the city.


Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud has declared the government unconstitutional following the resignations earlier this month of five Shia ministers and one Christian ally. The ministers quit after Hezbollah's call for more cabinet seats for it and its allies was rejected. >>

[Eugene]

2. Reuters: Huge crowd gathers in Beirut for opposition rally

Huge crowd gathers in Beirut for opposition rally

By Yara Bayoumy
36 minutes ago

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of flag-waving Lebanese poured into central Beirut
on Friday for a Hezbollah-led protest aimed at bringing down the Western-backed government,
which has vowed it will not yield to the pressure.

Pro-Syrian Hezbollah and its allies have called on Lebanese from across the country to take
part in the opposition protest. It is due to start at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT) and will be followed
by an indefinite sit-in near the government offices.

-snip-

Scores of soldiers, using barbed wire and metal barriers, cordoned off the complex housing
the government's offices in the downtown area, where Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and most
of his ministers were monitoring the situation.

Less than 30 meters away, the crowds gathered, waving red-and-white Lebanese flags under
banners demanding a government of national unity.

"We want a clean government," one banner read. "Siniora out, we want a free, free government,"
the crowd chanted.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061201/wl_nm/lebanon_dc

[Scurrilous]

3. ANALYSIS - Hezbollah challenge tests limits of US power

<snip>

"The Hezbollah-led opposition's challenge to the Beirut government is a blow to U.S. Middle East policy and shows Washington has limited options to head off Syrian and Iranian influence in Lebanon.

With mounting calls for Washington to engage with Tehran and Damascus as part of its policy to ease violence in Iraq, both states aim to strengthen their hand by dealing the United States a political blow in Lebanon, analysts say.

The United States has accused Tehran and Damascus, acting through Hezbollah, of trying to mount a coup against the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, which came to office after the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon last year.

Washington and Paris led pressure for the pullout and have forged an alliance with the anti-Syrian majority coalition.

With the United States bogged down in Iraq, Iran and Syria are now seizing a chance to further erode Washington's regional position through Hezbollah's challenge to the government, the analysts say."

more



At least 800,000 Hezbollah followers rally in Beirut

<snip>

"Hundreds of thousands protesters from Hezbollah and its
pro-Syrian allies descended on downtown Beirut on Friday in a peaceful but noisy protest to force the resignation of U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops.

The protesters created a sea of Lebanese flags that blanketed downtown and spilled onto the surrounding streets. Many chanted slogans demanding Siniora quit amid the deafening sound of Hezbollah's revolutionary and nationalist songs, but no clashes were immediately reported.

Lebanon's Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun told the rally in Beirut that Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and his cabinet had to resign.

"I call on the prime minister and his ministers to quit," Aoun said to the cheers of protesters.

"I wish that the prime minister and his ministers were among us today, not hiding behind barbed wire and army armored carriers. He who has his people behind him does not need barbed wire," Aoun told the crowd."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/795290.html

[Scurrilous]

4. In pictures: Beirut opposition rally

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6200010.stm

[ButterflyBlood]

5. Stay strong Siniora

Don't surrender to those fundie pieces of shit.

[happyslug]

6. I didn't know Michel Aoun was a fundamentalist???

While a Maronite Christian he is presently allied with Hezbollah in this fight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Aoun

"Aoun's platform is a liberal, secular one. He has said: "We want to create a secular culture with the people so that the population begins to demand it and be able to confront religious authorities that refuse it." He argues in favor of allowing civil marriage, empowering women, changing the citizenship laws, establishing a system of corporate governance, and having external auditors help to control the debt burden"

Yes he is ALLIED with Hezbollah? Why?

"In an unprecedented move, Aoun signed an agreement of understanding with Hezbollah on February 6, 2006. The agreement constitutes a first step towards resolving the main differences between Lebanon's political parties. This historical document allowed bridging the gap between the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah. Aoun argued that the March 14th coalition was making a political mistake by trying to isolate Hezbollah. In fact, some Lebanese history analysts argue that the isolation of the Kataeb party was one of the reasons behind the Lebanese civil war in 1975."

More on his party:
http://www.tayyar.org/tayyar/englishdis.php

[Scurrilous]

7. Beirut Protest Blocks Office Of Premier For a 2nd Day

<snip>

"The center of this city remained paralyzed and shuttered on Saturday as thousands of pro-Hezbollah protesters entered the second day of a sit-in aimed at forcing the Western-backed government to resign.

The atmosphere remained festive, almost joyous, though, as protesters emerged from tents pitched in empty lots and chanted slogans, banged drums and appeared to dig in for a long stay.

A small group of mostly young men pressed close to the swirls of razor wire that blocked the entrance to the Grand Serail, the offices of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. On the other side were a large number of soldiers and armored vehicles.

“Siniora must go,” the protesters yelled.

A day earlier, on Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters from around the country poured into two areas of the city center, one south of Martyrs Square and the other in a square near the Grand Serail, in a great show of defiance to the government. But most left after sundown."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/world/middleeast/03lebanon.html