Could Bush be right? Pt.3, "Lebanese People Power"

[RonOnGuitar]

"Freedom fever" seems to be moving along well in Lebanon with each passing day! Hooray for the Lebanese people (reminds me of the Solidarity freedom era in Poland)

=================================



'People Power' Credited With Toppling of Government

By Nadim Ladki, Reuters



BEIRUT, Lebanon (March 1) - Hundreds of protesters waving Lebanese flags returned to central Beirut on Tuesday to demand Syria quit Lebanon after the toppling of the Syrian-backed government by what the media called "people power."



Lebanese officials began a search for a new premier after the government of Prime Minister Omar Karami resigned on Monday following two weeks of protests, piling more pressure on Damascus, already under fire from the United States and Israel.



Thousands of demonstrators turned a square in Beirut into a sea of Lebanese flags on Monday night and exploded into riotous celebration when the government unexpectedly quit after a parliament debate on the killing of ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri.



The jubilant protesters left in the early hours of Tuesday only for a few hundred to return hours later, vowing to keep up their street protests until Syrian troops left the country.



"Our hopes are growing regarding Syria's exit after the resignation of the government," Patrick Risha, a 22-year-old political science student told Reuters at Martyrs Square. "This encourages us to stay here and continue our protest."



"We will not go to school. We will keep coming here until (President Emile) Lahoud is toppled and the Syrians leave Lebanon," Elainne Hajj, 16, said.



Most of the opposition protesters are Maronite Christians, who have long opposed Syria's role in Lebanon, Druze and some Sunni Muslims. Shi'ite Muslims, Lebanon's largest community, have mainly stayed away from the anti-Syrian rallies.



"Government falls under the pressure of the people and the hammer of the opposition," said Al-Mustaqbal daily, owned by the late Hariri.



"People power brings down Karami's cabinet," the headline in Beirut's English-language Daily Star newspaper read.



"Electricity is in the air. Beirut is a sea of excitement, and activity and turmoil," it said in an editorial. "The word 'revolution' is on many lips."



TIME FOR CHANGE



The Daily Star urged the opposition and loyalists alike to grasp the full magnitude of the popular movement and heed its wishes for a new Lebanon.



"And Syria should consider what is happening in a sombre manner and not thwart the ideals demonstrated by Lebanon's youth: It is, indeed, the time for change," it said







top photo -

A protester flashes a victory sign Monday in Beirut to celebrate of the fall of Lebanon's pro-Syria government

center photo -

A demonstrator with Lebanese flags painted on her face attends Monday's anti-Syria protest in Beirut.

bottom photo -

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, in Britian with Prime Minister Tony Blair, offered Lebanon election aid.