| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanese PM announces gov't resignation, Bush pleased |
| 2005-02-28 |
| Severely EFL Lebanon's Prime Minister Omar Karami has announced he and his government are resigning, two weeks after the murder of former PM Rafik Hariri. The move came as crowds protested in Beirut, calling for Syrian troops to leave the country. The Lebanese parliament was also debating an opposition-sponsored motion of no-confidence in the government. His announcement came after a break in the parliamentary debate, which was being televised live. A cheer went up among more than 10,000 protesters who had gathered in Martyrs Square to demand the resignation of the government and the withdrawal of Syrian troops. They had defied a ban on demonstrations, which Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh said had been made on the grounds of "supreme national interests". From AFP: The White House welcomed the resignation of pro-Syrian Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karameh saying it should pave the way for elections and a new government that was "truly representative." White House spokesman Scott McClellan also repeated a call for Syrian troops to leave Lebanon. "The new government will have the responsibility to implement free and fair elections that the Lebanese people have clearly demonstrated they desire," McClellan added. "The process of (forming) a new government should proceed in accordance with the Lebanese constitution and should be free of all foreign interference," the White House spokesman said. snip "It is time for Syria to fully comply with United Nations Security Council resolution 1559 that means that Syria military forces and intelligence personnel leave the country," he said. "That will help to ensure that elections are free and fair." snip The announcement was greeted with loud applause in Lebanon's national assembly, where the opposition had been seeking a vote of no confidence in Karameh's four-month-old government. Tens of thousands of jubilant demonstrators in nearby Martyrs' Square in central Beirut broke into singing the national anthem. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 I hope that the Lebanese get back their country. They have had the short end of the stick ever since the Arafish and his hordes of thugs set up shop in Beruit after King Hussein kicked the PLO's collective ass out of Jordan in the 70's. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-02-28 4:05:56 PM |