E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Lebanese rally against Syria
Some 3,000 Lebanese students and activists defied the government yesterday and demonstrated peacefully against Syria's domination of their country. Shouting "Syrians out," students from several universities and right-wing Christian activists converged on a central Beirut intersection. Hundreds of security forces watched, but did not intervene. Soldiers and police set up roadblocks to prevent protesters from travelling into the capital for the twin demonstrations called by the right-wing and left-wing opposition, causing massive tailbacks in the morning rush-hour. The government had declared that street protests would be illegal, but the police and troops seemed to heed instructions of maximum restraint from Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh. The protesters dispersed after several hours without any violence reported. Called to mark the anniversary of Lebanon's independence, which falls on Monday, the protests objected to the role of neighbouring Syria, which stations some 14,000 troops in Lebanon and has long controlled the government and senior appointments.
Being a colony really sucks, eh guys?
One demonstrator appealed to US President George W Bush, holding a placard that read: "Bush help us save Lebanon." A smaller group of protesters, followers of Druse leader Walid Jumblatt, chanted the national anthem near the prime minister's office and held placards reading: "No to hegemony" and "Freedom, Sovereignty, Independence." The government had earlier cordoned off the office of Prime Minister Omar Karami with tank traps and other obstacles. It deployed about 1,000 security forces outside the universities and at major intersections across the city in anticipation of the protests.

The protests were called by opposition leader Gen Michel Aoun, a former commander of the Lebanese army. Aoun has been in exile in France since losing a military campaign against the Syrian forces in Lebanon in the early 1990's. Prominent members of the opposition had warned the government against using force to stop the protests, saying the world is watching. Previous protests against Syria have ended in clashes in the streets.
Posted by: Steve White 2004-11-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=49275