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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Thousands of pro-Syrian Lebanese stage mass demonstration in Beirut
2004-12-02
Tens of thousands of people marched through this city yesterday in a government-backed show of support for Syria's military and political role in Lebanon. "With our blood, with our souls, we redeem you, oh, Bashar!" demonstrators chanted as they carried pictures of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his ally Lebanese President Emile Lahoud toward Martyrs' Square in central Beirut.
Sounds an awful lot like "Saddam, we will defend you with our blood!" That worked well.
"America, you are the Great Satan!" rang out from loudspeakers.
Lebanon, you are the Great Toesucker!
The slogan is a rallying cry of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a principal organiser of the protest.
No twitch from the old surprise meter there...
The demonstrators held banners denouncing UN Security Council Resolution 1559 of Sept 2, which effectively called on Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon, which now number about 14,000, and end its political influence in its western neighbor. The resolution, which was sponsored by the United States and France, also demanded that the Lebanese government disarm Hezbollah, which has not surrendered its weapons since the end of the 1975-90 civil war, and Palestinian guerrillas in refugee camps.
In the civilized world, governments don't like to have armed bands of fascisti roaming the streets...
"Beirut says 'No' for the UN 1559 decree," read one banner in English.
"We don't wanna be civilized!"
Another banner said "We are freedom fighters, not terrorists" a reference to the term that the United States ascribes to Hezbollah.
"We fight for freedom by killing innocents!"
The demonstration was called by pro-Syrian, leftist and pan-Arab nationalist factions, as well as Hezbollah. It was supported by the government, which argues that Lebanon needs Syria's military presence to maintain security in a country where sectarian divisions run deep.
If the sectarian fascisti weren't armed and dangerous you wouldn't need an outside presence, would you? You've got an army and a police force. It's your country. Establish order and security for yourselves, or start using somebody else's flag...
Police escorted the demonstrators and cleared the route of parked vehicles. There was no immediate official estimate of the turnout. Thousands of people had been bussed in from villages and towns in northern, southern and eastern Lebanon. The organisers said they aimed to draw one million people an extremely ambitious target for a country of 3.5 million. The organisers succeeded in assembling a much larger demonstration than that mustered by Lebanese opponents of Syria last week. In that protest, about 3,000 students and activists called for an end to Syria's domination of Lebanon and the withdrawal of its troops.
Posted by:Fred

#2  Toss a dozen or so MOABs into the mix and see how many of them support Syria.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2004-12-02 5:27:20 PM  

#1  sniff...sniff...do I smell desperation?
Posted by: 2b   2004-12-02 8:49:56 AM  

00:00