- Title: LEBANON: ANTI-SYRIAN DEMONSTRATORS CONTINUE TO DEFY GOVERNMENT BAN ON PROTEST.
- Date: 28th February 2005
- Summary: (W2) BEIRUT, LEBANON (FEBRUARY 28, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. VARIOUS: ARMY VEHICLES IN DOWNTOWN BEIRUT BLOCKING ROAD; SOLDIERS SEARCHING AMBULANCE; ARMY JEEP DRIVING OUT OF PARLIAMENT AREA (7 SHOTS) 0.48 2. VARIOUS: PROTESTERS WITH LEBANESE FLAGS; PROTESTERS SITTING AROUND TENT; PROTESTERS CHANTING (12 SHOTS) 1.46 3. CU: BANNER 'WE JUST WANT TO BE
- Embargoed: 15th March 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BEIRUT, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Reuters ID: LVA4QSN8XEJ94ZTMPGRIQHJIV4J6
- Story Text: Day broke over Beirut as anti-Syrian protestors
prepared to square off against troops.
Hundreds of anti-Syrian protesters defied a
government ban and staged a protest on Monday (February 28)
in central Beirut before what is set to be a fiery debate
in parliament over the killing of Lebanon's ex-prime
minister.
A general strike shut down banks, schools and public
and private businesses in line with an opposition call to
coincide with the debate on Rafik al-Hariri's killing on
Feb. 14 -- an assassination that for many recalled
Lebanon's bitter 1975-90 civil war.
Lebanese soldiers with assault rifles fanned out in
central Beirut, putting up metal barricades and barbed wire
at road junctions leading to Martyrs Square and stopping
people entering the area, witnesses said.
Army checkpoints at roads into Beirut were also turning
away cars and buses carrying people heading to the capital
to take part in the demonstration.
But the troops took no action against hundreds of
demonstrators draped in Lebanese flags who had already
gathered overnight to stage a sit-in in Martyrs Square,
near Hariri's grave. The number of protesters had dwindled
by early morning from thousands.
Protesters demanded the government resign and chanted
"Syria out" and "Freedom, sovereignty, independence". Large
television screens were set up to allow the protesters to
watch live coverage of the parliament session while
patriotic songs blared from loudspeakers.
Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh called on security
forces in a statement on Sunday "to take all necessary
steps to preserve security and order and prevent
demonstrations and gatherings on Monday".
Syria plays a powerbroking role in Lebanon, where it
keeps 14,000 troops.
Opposition deputies and many ordinary Lebanese have
held Syria and the Lebanese authorities either directly or
indirectly responsible for Hariri's death along with 17
other people in a car bombing. Damascus denies any role and
has described Hariri's killing as terrorism.
After the Syrian-backed government banned protests,
loyalists called off a counter-march in central Beirut
against U.S. Deputy Secretary of State David Satterfield's
visit to Lebanon as part of growing international pressure
for Syria to withdraw its troops.
Clashes between the two groups were feared.
An army statement asked the Lebanese people not to
gather, particularly in the streets around parliament.
Scores of security forces blocked those streets ahead of
what is widely expected to be a heated debate.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None