03-02-2005, 04:21 AM
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/internat.../01lebanon.html
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<b>Lebanon's Pro-Syria Government Quits After Protests </b>
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 28 - Lebanon's prime minister, Omar Karami, resigned Monday, dissolving the country's pro-Syrian government and setting the stage for an intense struggle over the relationship between Syria and Lebanon.
The surprise resignation came as the streets of Beirut were filled with tens of thousands of flag-waving protesters and hours after a grueling no-confidence debate in the Lebanese Parliament. Pressure on both the government and Syria has risen steadily since the car-bomb assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri two weeks ago, for which government opponents blame Syria.
The Lebanese opposition has demanded a full investigation of Mr. Hariri's assassination, the resignation of the government, and an immediate pullout of Syria's 14,000 troops from Lebanon. Opposition leaders say they have consciously imitated the popular uprising in Ukraine, where demonstrators forced the government to call a new election after accusations of corruption.
Marches over the past two weeks here culminated in a huge demonstration at Martyr's Square on Monday in open defiance of an Interior Ministry order against the gathering, as the parliamentary session began.
Lebanese soldiers circled much of the city center with barbed wire and barricades on Sunday evening to block the Monday demonstration, but to little avail.
Syria has been under intense American pressure because of its support for anti-Israel terrorism and for what Washington says is its tolerance of wanted former Iraqi officials taking refuge in Syria. In addition, the Bush administration has pressed for Syrian troops to leave Lebanon.
Lebanese opposition leaders say they feel that the Damascus government is more vulnerable than ever and that this is the moment to act, especially as Lebanon's wary communities of Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Christians and Druse have grown more united in their demands for the Syrians to leave.
Mr. Karami, a Syria loyalist, announced his resignation in a terse statement as Parliament reconvened debate on the confidence measure. "Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good of the country, I announce the resignation of the government I had the honor to lead," he said.
Lebanese television reported that President Ãmile Lahoud had accepted Mr. Karami's resignation and that he would soon establish a caretaker government.
Mr. Karami, scion of the Lebanese independence hero Abdul Hamid Karami and brother of the multiterm Prime Minister Rashid Karami, who was assassinated in 1987, was defiant as he faced Parliament on Monday morning.
"I call on everyone to be patient and avoid taking their strength from abroad, allowing Lebanese demands to be manipulated by the ongoing conflict in the Arab world," he warned, in an allusion to growing pressure by the United States and France on his government and on Syria.
The resignation is likely to help budding democratic efforts throughout the Middle East. Few opposition members of Parliament expected to win the no-confidence measure, but in a nod to the growing populism of the opposition, Mr. Karami bowed to the Lebanese street.
"The government would have won the confidence vote, they weren't afraid of that," said Jihad al-Khazen, a professor of political science at American University in Beirut. "But they lost confidence on the street, and that was awkward. They lost legitimacy, they lost credibility."
Parliamentary elections had already been planned for May.
Mr. Karami became prime minister after Mr. Hariri resigned last October in protest over the lifting of term limits on Lebanon's presidency that allowed the pro-Syrian president, Mr. Lahoud, to remain in office for three more years.
In scenes reminiscent of protests in the United States in the 1960's, protesters rushed to get to the site of the demonstration, just yards away from Mr. Hariri's grave, and camped through the night, waving Lebanese flags as anthems played on. Many handed flowers to the soldiers and beseeched them to cooperate with them. Despite orders to prevent demonstrators from entering the area, soldiers eventually relented to the flood of largely young protestors on Monday, and the demonstration carried on peacefully.
"We came to say that conditions are not acceptable anymore," said Tony Khouri, who had come from Amman, Jordan, with his wife, Caroline, on family business and stayed on for the demonstration. "The goal is for everyone to stop interfering in our country and let us take care of ourselves," he said, alluding to Syria's grip on Lebanon.
Such talk was virtually unheard of in public only a year ago. But the resignation of Mr. Karami underscored Syria's weakening grip on Lebanon. For more than 30 years, Syria has held sway over Lebanon's political and economic life through its military and proxy over the government, arming Hezbollah, and using the country as a gateway into the global economy.
Mr. Hariri's assassination on Feb. 14 turned the opposition movement, which initially began in 2001 and took shape in 2004, into a populist movement on the streets.
"It was unprecedented for the Syrians," Dr. Khazen said. "It is the first time in Lebanon we see such national unity on such a crucial issue." Syria has faced fierce pressure in recent weeks. The Bush administration recalled its ambassador to Syria last week, and has demanded that Syria leave Lebanon completely.
United Nations investigators landed in Beirut on Friday to investigate the assassination, emphasizing the lack of confidence many Lebanese have in Lebanon's Syrian-backed government. The international community, together with Lebanon's growing opposition movement, has increased pressure on Syria. Arab leaders like the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, have also sent Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, messages to withdraw, warning of dire consequences otherwise.
Syrian officials described the resignation on Monday as a "Lebanese issue." "We hope that a Lebanese government will emerge to lead Lebanon to what is best for Lebanon and for the rest of the region in this very delicate time," an official of the Foreign Ministry said.
State Department officials, who have the called the fall of the government the cedar revolution - like Ukraine's orange revolution - praised the opposition's efforts. At the White House, officials were elated, though they cautioned that the government's decision to resign did not assure a fair election.
Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, told reporters, "The resignation of the Karami government represents an opportunity for the Lebanese people to have a new government that is truly representative of their country's diversity."
The dissolution of the government may have been the easiest of the opposition's goals, other analysts say, warning that Syria's response remains unclear.
"It's just a first success for the opposition," said Michael Young, an analyst and journalist based in Beirut. "You have to watch out there isn't a military government or some kind of martial law that takes over."
The instability threatens to damage the Lebanese economy and cleave divisions in the country. "In my opinion, he wants to throw the responsibility on someone else, and that somebody else will not be able to solve Lebanon's problem," said Adnan Araqji, a close confidante of Mr. Hariri's. "They now have to sit at the table and negotiate with each other, or else the country will go to ruin."Â <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
<b>Lebanon's Pro-Syria Government Quits After Protests </b>
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 28 - Lebanon's prime minister, Omar Karami, resigned Monday, dissolving the country's pro-Syrian government and setting the stage for an intense struggle over the relationship between Syria and Lebanon.
The surprise resignation came as the streets of Beirut were filled with tens of thousands of flag-waving protesters and hours after a grueling no-confidence debate in the Lebanese Parliament. Pressure on both the government and Syria has risen steadily since the car-bomb assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri two weeks ago, for which government opponents blame Syria.
The Lebanese opposition has demanded a full investigation of Mr. Hariri's assassination, the resignation of the government, and an immediate pullout of Syria's 14,000 troops from Lebanon. Opposition leaders say they have consciously imitated the popular uprising in Ukraine, where demonstrators forced the government to call a new election after accusations of corruption.
Marches over the past two weeks here culminated in a huge demonstration at Martyr's Square on Monday in open defiance of an Interior Ministry order against the gathering, as the parliamentary session began.
Lebanese soldiers circled much of the city center with barbed wire and barricades on Sunday evening to block the Monday demonstration, but to little avail.
Syria has been under intense American pressure because of its support for anti-Israel terrorism and for what Washington says is its tolerance of wanted former Iraqi officials taking refuge in Syria. In addition, the Bush administration has pressed for Syrian troops to leave Lebanon.
Lebanese opposition leaders say they feel that the Damascus government is more vulnerable than ever and that this is the moment to act, especially as Lebanon's wary communities of Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Christians and Druse have grown more united in their demands for the Syrians to leave.
Mr. Karami, a Syria loyalist, announced his resignation in a terse statement as Parliament reconvened debate on the confidence measure. "Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good of the country, I announce the resignation of the government I had the honor to lead," he said.
Lebanese television reported that President Ãmile Lahoud had accepted Mr. Karami's resignation and that he would soon establish a caretaker government.
Mr. Karami, scion of the Lebanese independence hero Abdul Hamid Karami and brother of the multiterm Prime Minister Rashid Karami, who was assassinated in 1987, was defiant as he faced Parliament on Monday morning.
"I call on everyone to be patient and avoid taking their strength from abroad, allowing Lebanese demands to be manipulated by the ongoing conflict in the Arab world," he warned, in an allusion to growing pressure by the United States and France on his government and on Syria.
The resignation is likely to help budding democratic efforts throughout the Middle East. Few opposition members of Parliament expected to win the no-confidence measure, but in a nod to the growing populism of the opposition, Mr. Karami bowed to the Lebanese street.
"The government would have won the confidence vote, they weren't afraid of that," said Jihad al-Khazen, a professor of political science at American University in Beirut. "But they lost confidence on the street, and that was awkward. They lost legitimacy, they lost credibility."
Parliamentary elections had already been planned for May.
Mr. Karami became prime minister after Mr. Hariri resigned last October in protest over the lifting of term limits on Lebanon's presidency that allowed the pro-Syrian president, Mr. Lahoud, to remain in office for three more years.
In scenes reminiscent of protests in the United States in the 1960's, protesters rushed to get to the site of the demonstration, just yards away from Mr. Hariri's grave, and camped through the night, waving Lebanese flags as anthems played on. Many handed flowers to the soldiers and beseeched them to cooperate with them. Despite orders to prevent demonstrators from entering the area, soldiers eventually relented to the flood of largely young protestors on Monday, and the demonstration carried on peacefully.
"We came to say that conditions are not acceptable anymore," said Tony Khouri, who had come from Amman, Jordan, with his wife, Caroline, on family business and stayed on for the demonstration. "The goal is for everyone to stop interfering in our country and let us take care of ourselves," he said, alluding to Syria's grip on Lebanon.
Such talk was virtually unheard of in public only a year ago. But the resignation of Mr. Karami underscored Syria's weakening grip on Lebanon. For more than 30 years, Syria has held sway over Lebanon's political and economic life through its military and proxy over the government, arming Hezbollah, and using the country as a gateway into the global economy.
Mr. Hariri's assassination on Feb. 14 turned the opposition movement, which initially began in 2001 and took shape in 2004, into a populist movement on the streets.
"It was unprecedented for the Syrians," Dr. Khazen said. "It is the first time in Lebanon we see such national unity on such a crucial issue." Syria has faced fierce pressure in recent weeks. The Bush administration recalled its ambassador to Syria last week, and has demanded that Syria leave Lebanon completely.
United Nations investigators landed in Beirut on Friday to investigate the assassination, emphasizing the lack of confidence many Lebanese have in Lebanon's Syrian-backed government. The international community, together with Lebanon's growing opposition movement, has increased pressure on Syria. Arab leaders like the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, have also sent Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, messages to withdraw, warning of dire consequences otherwise.
Syrian officials described the resignation on Monday as a "Lebanese issue." "We hope that a Lebanese government will emerge to lead Lebanon to what is best for Lebanon and for the rest of the region in this very delicate time," an official of the Foreign Ministry said.
State Department officials, who have the called the fall of the government the cedar revolution - like Ukraine's orange revolution - praised the opposition's efforts. At the White House, officials were elated, though they cautioned that the government's decision to resign did not assure a fair election.
Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, told reporters, "The resignation of the Karami government represents an opportunity for the Lebanese people to have a new government that is truly representative of their country's diversity."
The dissolution of the government may have been the easiest of the opposition's goals, other analysts say, warning that Syria's response remains unclear.
"It's just a first success for the opposition," said Michael Young, an analyst and journalist based in Beirut. "You have to watch out there isn't a military government or some kind of martial law that takes over."
The instability threatens to damage the Lebanese economy and cleave divisions in the country. "In my opinion, he wants to throw the responsibility on someone else, and that somebody else will not be able to solve Lebanon's problem," said Adnan Araqji, a close confidante of Mr. Hariri's. "They now have to sit at the table and negotiate with each other, or else the country will go to ruin."Â <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->