Bluezoo
03-02-2005, 01:54 PM
Opposition Wants Syria Out of Lebanon
By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Bolstered by support from Arab countries, the Lebanese opposition on Wednesday demanded a "full" withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have stepped in to persuade Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and avoid a showdown with the world, Arab diplomats say, while a few hundred activists in Beirut on Wednesday continued anti-Syrian demonstrations that toppled Lebanon's government.
Lebanon's staunchly pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, began the search for a new prime minister to replace Omar Karami, who resigned earlier this week. Lahoud met with the speaker of parliament amid opposition pressure to ensure the new government is not dominated by Damascus.
Lebanon's worst political crisis in years has increasingly isolated Syria, with even its traditional ally Russia joining the United States, France and the United Nations (news - web sites) in calling on Damascus to pull its 15,000 troops out of its neighbor, where it has wielded power for more than a decade.
Opposition leaders meeting in Beirut asked Syrian President Bashar Assad to issue a formal announcement pulling his forces out of Lebanon.
"The core of our pressing demands on the road to salvation and independence is represented by a full withdrawal of the Syrian army and intelligence from Lebanon," said a statement released following the meeting.
Noticeably absent from the statement was any reference to the 1989 Arab-brokered Taif Accord, which called for a gradual withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon.
Reading the statement, opposition lawmaker Ahmed Fatfat called for "a Syrian response through an official announcement to be issued by the president of the Arab Syrian republic to withdraw the Syrian forces and its intelligence from Lebanon."
Diplomats, meanwhile, said Egypt and Saudi Arabia are trying to win Syrian acceptance of a timetable for a complete withdrawal by April. The Arab mediation calls for Damascus to announce a withdrawal timetable "as soon as possible," another diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
The mediation by the two Arab powerhouses aims "to save Syria from a serious conflict that will pitch it against the whole world," said one Arab diplomat in Cairo.
The initiative is expected to be raised during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo late Wednesday with an eye toward an Arab summit in Algeria in March.
The United States, along with France, has stepped up its pressure on Syria. President Bush (news - web sites) said Wednesday the world "is speaking with one voice when it comes to making sure that democracy has a chance to flourish in Lebanon."
The crisis also began to have economic effects in Lebanon, a traditional center of banking and commerce. Worries over where the rapidly unfolding events are taking the country prompted a rush on U.S. dollars, forcing Lebanon's Central Bank to intervene to support the pound.
Lebanese opposition leader Walid Jumblatt demanded Wednesday that Syria give precise dates for withdrawing its 15,000 troops from Lebanon. The Syrian president told Time magazine that his forces could leave Lebanon "maybe in the next few months. Not after that."
"It's a nice gesture, but 'next few months' is quite vague," Jumblatt told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "We need a clear-cut timetable."
Jumblatt, who leads Lebanon's Druse, has played a major role in the 'Syria Out' campaign and was scheduled to host a meeting of opposition politicians at his mountain residence outside Beirut later Wednesday.
Flush with the success of Monday's demonstrations — which drew some 25,000 people and forced the sudden resignation of Karami's Cabinet — the opposition is trying to decide on its immediate aims and on whether to continue with its "independence uprising" or tone down protests.
Jumblatt has said Lahoud should resign, but other opposition leaders have said that is not on their agenda.
The opposition has called for a neutral Cabinet to run the country through the legislative elections due in April and May. It has also demanded a speedy and impartial investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose death in a Feb. 14 bomb explosion sparked the mass anti-Syrian demonstrations.
The opposition has blamed Syria and the Lebanese government for the assassination. Both governments deny involvement. Opposition politicians have also called for the dismissal of Lebanon's intelligence and security chiefs, accusing them of negligence in the bombing.
The blast's death toll rose to 18 Wednesday, when civil defense workers found a man's body under debris in a building near where the bomb blew up Hariri's motorcade in central Beirut.
Fewer than 300 people mounted a 'Syria Out' protest Wednesday in Martyrs Square, scene of Monday's gigantic demonstration. Some demonstrators have been sleeping in tents in the square, vowing to maintain a vigil until the last Syrian soldier leaves the country.
The opposition has called for nightly demonstrations as part of an "independence uprising" to force the Syrians out. On Tuesday night, about 2,000 people answered the call, waving red, white and green Lebanese flags in the square.
Syria's troops entered Lebanon ostensibly as peacekeepers in the second year of the 1975-90 civil war. When the war ended, Syria was the country's No. 1 force and it has dominated Lebanese politics ever since.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=1&u=/ap/20050302/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_syria
By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Bolstered by support from Arab countries, the Lebanese opposition on Wednesday demanded a "full" withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have stepped in to persuade Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and avoid a showdown with the world, Arab diplomats say, while a few hundred activists in Beirut on Wednesday continued anti-Syrian demonstrations that toppled Lebanon's government.
Lebanon's staunchly pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, began the search for a new prime minister to replace Omar Karami, who resigned earlier this week. Lahoud met with the speaker of parliament amid opposition pressure to ensure the new government is not dominated by Damascus.
Lebanon's worst political crisis in years has increasingly isolated Syria, with even its traditional ally Russia joining the United States, France and the United Nations (news - web sites) in calling on Damascus to pull its 15,000 troops out of its neighbor, where it has wielded power for more than a decade.
Opposition leaders meeting in Beirut asked Syrian President Bashar Assad to issue a formal announcement pulling his forces out of Lebanon.
"The core of our pressing demands on the road to salvation and independence is represented by a full withdrawal of the Syrian army and intelligence from Lebanon," said a statement released following the meeting.
Noticeably absent from the statement was any reference to the 1989 Arab-brokered Taif Accord, which called for a gradual withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon.
Reading the statement, opposition lawmaker Ahmed Fatfat called for "a Syrian response through an official announcement to be issued by the president of the Arab Syrian republic to withdraw the Syrian forces and its intelligence from Lebanon."
Diplomats, meanwhile, said Egypt and Saudi Arabia are trying to win Syrian acceptance of a timetable for a complete withdrawal by April. The Arab mediation calls for Damascus to announce a withdrawal timetable "as soon as possible," another diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
The mediation by the two Arab powerhouses aims "to save Syria from a serious conflict that will pitch it against the whole world," said one Arab diplomat in Cairo.
The initiative is expected to be raised during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo late Wednesday with an eye toward an Arab summit in Algeria in March.
The United States, along with France, has stepped up its pressure on Syria. President Bush (news - web sites) said Wednesday the world "is speaking with one voice when it comes to making sure that democracy has a chance to flourish in Lebanon."
The crisis also began to have economic effects in Lebanon, a traditional center of banking and commerce. Worries over where the rapidly unfolding events are taking the country prompted a rush on U.S. dollars, forcing Lebanon's Central Bank to intervene to support the pound.
Lebanese opposition leader Walid Jumblatt demanded Wednesday that Syria give precise dates for withdrawing its 15,000 troops from Lebanon. The Syrian president told Time magazine that his forces could leave Lebanon "maybe in the next few months. Not after that."
"It's a nice gesture, but 'next few months' is quite vague," Jumblatt told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "We need a clear-cut timetable."
Jumblatt, who leads Lebanon's Druse, has played a major role in the 'Syria Out' campaign and was scheduled to host a meeting of opposition politicians at his mountain residence outside Beirut later Wednesday.
Flush with the success of Monday's demonstrations — which drew some 25,000 people and forced the sudden resignation of Karami's Cabinet — the opposition is trying to decide on its immediate aims and on whether to continue with its "independence uprising" or tone down protests.
Jumblatt has said Lahoud should resign, but other opposition leaders have said that is not on their agenda.
The opposition has called for a neutral Cabinet to run the country through the legislative elections due in April and May. It has also demanded a speedy and impartial investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose death in a Feb. 14 bomb explosion sparked the mass anti-Syrian demonstrations.
The opposition has blamed Syria and the Lebanese government for the assassination. Both governments deny involvement. Opposition politicians have also called for the dismissal of Lebanon's intelligence and security chiefs, accusing them of negligence in the bombing.
The blast's death toll rose to 18 Wednesday, when civil defense workers found a man's body under debris in a building near where the bomb blew up Hariri's motorcade in central Beirut.
Fewer than 300 people mounted a 'Syria Out' protest Wednesday in Martyrs Square, scene of Monday's gigantic demonstration. Some demonstrators have been sleeping in tents in the square, vowing to maintain a vigil until the last Syrian soldier leaves the country.
The opposition has called for nightly demonstrations as part of an "independence uprising" to force the Syrians out. On Tuesday night, about 2,000 people answered the call, waving red, white and green Lebanese flags in the square.
Syria's troops entered Lebanon ostensibly as peacekeepers in the second year of the 1975-90 civil war. When the war ended, Syria was the country's No. 1 force and it has dominated Lebanese politics ever since.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=1&u=/ap/20050302/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_syria