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Hariri demand Emile step down
 Leaders of the anti-Syrian camp which holds the majority of seats in Lebanon's parliament have called on Emile Lahoud, the country's president, to resign by 14 March. They called on the pro-Syrian president "to resign immediately and will give him until March 14", in a statement issued on Thursday after the leaders of the majority group held a meeting in Beirut. They called on MPs of the parliamentary majority to sign a petition calling for the ouster of Lahoud, but did not specify what measures they would take if Lahoud refused to budge. Participants in the previously unannounced meeting included Saad Hariri, the son of the slain former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri; Druse leader Walid Jumblatt; the leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces group, Samir Geagea; and other politicians. "The participants have decided to go ahead with a political and popular campaign by asking lawmakers ... to immediately sign a parliamentary petition requesting an end to Emile Lahoud's term," said a statement read to reporters by former lawmaker Fares Soeid. The deadline of 14 March referred to the date of a massive rally 11 months ago held to commemorate the killing of al-Hariri. Almost one million people, or one in four of Lebanon's population, took part. Posted by: Fred 2006-02-17 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=142904 |