Syria silent over Lebanon's 'Cedar Revolution'
Syria remained silent about the downfall of its puppet government in Lebanon today after Prime Minister Omar Karami was brought down by people power dubbed The Cedar Revolution.
With shouts of "Syria out!" 25,000 protesters last night massed outside the parliament in Beirut in a dramatic display of defiance that forced out the pro-Syrian premier and his cabinet, two weeks after the assassination of a popular politician touched off increasing unrest.
Jubilant demonstrators – shouting, waving flags and handing red roses to soldiers – demanded that Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud bow out, too, and pressed on with their calls for Syria to withdraw its troops from the country.
Damascus made no comment on the rapidly changing atmosphere in Beirut, where it ruled unopposed for years, even deciding on the Lebanon’s leaders, after deploying troops ostensibly as peacekeepers during the 1975-90 civil war.
But the dramatic developments – reminiscent of Ukraine’s peaceful “orange revolution” and broadcast live across the Arab world – could provoke a strong response from Syria, which keeps 15,000 troops in Lebanon.
It also could plunge Lebanon, a nation of 3.5 million, back into a period of uncertainty, political vacuum or worse.
Like their counterparts in Ukraine, the Lebanese demonstrators took their ground and held it. They planned to stay in Beirut’s central Martyrs’ Square again today.
And like Ukraine, their movement had trademark colours: the bright red and white of the Lebanese flag, waved high in the air and worn as a scarf.
The White House welcomed Karami’s resignation, saying it opens the door for new elections that are “free of all foreign interference” from Syria, but called again on Damascus to pull out its soldiers.
“Syrian military forces and intelligence personnel need to leave the country,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. “That will help ensure that elections are free and fair.”
In one sign Syria has no intention of just packing up and leaving, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in remarks published yesterday that there will be a price for Syrian troop withdrawal: a settlement with Israel.
At first glance, the resignation of Karami and his government was a huge victory for the opposition, united by dislike of the Syrians, the Syrian-backed government and the drive to find those who killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri two weeks ago. Many blame Syria for his assassination.
The government may have stepped down, at least in part, in hopes of quelling the unprecedented anger at Syria and its allies in Lebanon.
Despite the resignation, Damascus remains the major player in Lebanon. Aside from its troops, it has powerful allies, including the president, the intelligence services and the military.
President Lahoud quickly accepted the resignation of Karami’s four-month-old cabinet – which replaced Hariri’s government – and asked Karami to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.
Opposition leaders – a diverse group of Muslim, Druse and Christians - demanded a neutral government to organise parliamentary elections this spring and to investigate Hariri’s murder.
Druse opposition leader Walid Jumblatt, responding to Assad’s remarks, said Lebanon “cannot wait for peace to be achieved” in the Middle East and demanded a speedy troop withdrawal.
The US State Department’s annual report on human rights abuses around the world, released yesterday, called the events in Lebanon a “Cedar Revolution” - a name that brings the country in line with Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution, Georgia’s Rose Revolution, and Ukraine’s Orange Revolution.
“In Lebanon, we see growing momentum for a Cedar Revolution that is unifying the citizens of that nation to the cause of true democracy and freedom from foreign influence,” Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky said, referring to the majestic tree that is celebrated in the Bible as a symbol of well-being and appears on Lebanon’s flag.
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