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Nasrallah warns U.S. to stop interfering in Lebanon
 Hundreds of thousands filled the streets of Beirut to hear the leader of the Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah warn the United States to stop interfering in Lebanon and denounce a UN resolution demanding the withdrawal of Syria's army and the disarming of militant groups. In what was widely labelled a "pro-Syrian" demonstration, Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah thanked Syria for its sacrifices in Lebanon, and firmly rejected UN Resolution 1559, which he said was Israeli-inspired. But he pointedly failed to say that Syrian troops should remain on Lebanese soil in a move that many observers interpreted as a concession to Lebanese opposition demands for their withdrawal.Instead Nasrallah said Hizbullah supported the Taif Accord, which provides a framework for Syrian withdrawal. He said: "The troop withdrawal must happen according to the mechanism of the Taif Accord. The governments of the two countries alone have the right to set the suitable timetable for the troops' withdrawal." He added: "The Taif Accord is our only salvage to ensure the unity of the country and people. We must not only support the part of Taif that deal with the Syrian troops final withdrawal." He added that Syria's physical departure from Lebanon would not remove it from the "hearts and souls" of the Lebanese people. He said: "It was God's wish that Syria and Lebanon are natural neighboring countries. We must understand the implications of the geopolitics that what happens in one country would influence the other." The crowds swarmed into Beirut's Riad Solh Square coming from all parts of Lebanon waving Lebanese flags and and chanting anti American and pro-Syrian slogans. Posted by: Fred 2005-03-09 |
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