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<font size=3>FRIDAY, DECEMBER 01, 2006<br>
20:34 MECCA TIME, 17:34 GMT<br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F76214B5-D2DB-4275-B4CB-AAEE615FD8FF.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F76214B5-D2DB-4275-B4CB-AAEE615FD8FF.htm<br>
<br>
</a>Beirut rally urges Siniora to quit<br><br>
<br>
Protesters demanded the resignation of Lebanon's government at a
Hezbollah-led rally in Beirut.<br>
<br>
In a speech during the protest, Michel Aoun, the leader of the Free
Patriotic Movement party, said: "I call on the prime minister and
his ministers to quit."<br>
The protesters created a sea of Lebanese flags downtown that spilled onto
the surrounding streets amid the deafening sound of Lebanese nationalist
songs.<br>
<br>
Many chanted slogans demanding that Fouad Siniora, the prime minister,
quit.<br><br>
Police say around 80,000 protestors turned up for the demonstrations,
while organisers say the figure is around 800,000.<br><br>
Demonstrators blocked all roads leading to Siniora's offices, which have
been barricaded by armed Lebanese troops in armoured vehicles.<br><br>
Organisers said the protesters put up tents on main roads leading to the
Grand Serail building to force the resignation of Siniora, who was inside
his offices with a group of cabinet ministers.<br>
<br>
<b>Wide support<br><br>
</b>"These are not Hezbollah supporters, they are Lebanese from
every sect," Al Jazeera's Rula Amin said.<br><br>
The call for peaceful street action came after a statements by Hassan
Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, and other leaders.<br><br>
<br>
"We appeal to all Lebanese, from every region and political
movement, to take part in a peaceful and civilised demonstration on
Friday to rid us of an incapable government that has failed in its
mission," he said.<br><br>
<br>
The Lebanese military has instructions to maintain order and not take
sides during the protest and open-ended sit-in.<br><br>
Tents, food, medical supplies and electrical generators are being
distributed for what is expected to be a lengthy display of
dissatisfaction.<br><br>
Ibrahim al-Moussaoui, Al-Manar television's editor, said protestors will
lay siege till the government is brought down.<br><br>
"The government has let down the people of Lebanon. Demonstrations
will continue till the government is brought down, if not then people
might resort to civil disobedience."<br><br>
As well as the Hezbollah, the opposition factions include the Shia Muslim
Amal party of parliament speaker Nabih Berri, the Christian faction of
Michel Aoun, a former prime minister, and supporters of the Syrian-backed
president.<br><br>
They had urged the demonstrators to only carry Lebanese flags rather than
those of the political factions.<br><br>
Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese president, told UK's<i> Daily Telegraph</i>
newspaper that he was confident that the protests would not be the
beginning of violent confrontations between supporters of the various
political factions.<br><br>
"The resistance [Hezbollah] is not going to shoot Lebanese people,
and there will not be a civil war."<br><br>
He also criticised the government as "no longer legal" because
it does not adequately represent the country's religious make-up after
the resignation of five Shia ministers.<br><br>
There has been weeks of political tension between anti-Syrian groups and
Syrian supporters over proposals for the formation of a unity
government.<br><br>
<b>Government appeal<br><br>
</b>Meanwhile, the prime minister has appealed to the Lebanese to rally
behind his government.<br><br>
"The government of the independence ... will continue to defend
freedom and the democratic regime which are being targeted," Fouad
Siniora said.<br><br>
"We will not allow any coup against our democratic regime. We are
determined to stay the course, as our government is legitimate and
constitutional ... and enjoys the confidence of
parliament."<br><br>
Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Lebanese Druze and a prominent
anti-Syrian MP, denounced the protest and called for his supporters to
stay calm.<br>
<br>
"This is an attempted coup but we will remain strong," he
said.<br><br>
"We will stay home, we will hang the Lebanese flags ... and when
they will decide to return to dialogue, we will welcome
that."<br><br>
Last year massive street protests after the assassination of Rafiq
al-Hariri, former prime minister and critic of Damascus, led to Syria
withdrawing its troops from Lebanon.<br>
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies<br><br>
<br>
</font><h1><b>Protesters seek Lebanon PM resignation
</b></h1><font size=3>By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer<i> 17
minutes ago</i> <br><br>
Hundreds of thousands of protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian
allies massed Friday in downtown Beirut seeking to force the resignation
of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who was holed up in his
office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops.<br><br>
The protest, which police estimated at 800,000, created a sea of Lebanese
flags that blanketed downtown and spilled onto the surrounding streets.
Hezbollah officials put the number at 1 million one-fourth of Lebanon's
population.<br><br>
"Saniora out! We want a free government!" protesters shouted
through loudspeakers. The crowd roared in approval amid the deafening
sound of Hezbollah revolutionary and nationalist songs. "We want a
clean government," read one placard, in what has become the
opposition's motto.<br><br>
Launching a long-threatened campaign to force Lebanon's U.S.-backed
government from office, Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies said the
demonstration would be followed by a wave of open-ended protests.
Hezbollah had threatened demonstrations unless it and its allies obtained
a veto share of the Cabinet a demand Saniora and Lebanon's anti-Syrian
parties rejected. The protests now aim to generate enough popular
pressure to paralyze the Saniora government and force it out.<br><br>
"People have a right to express their political opinions, but in
terms of this being part of the Iran-Syria inspired coup d'etat against
the government of Lebanon, we're obviously quite concerned about
it," said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John
Bolton.<br><br>
State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said U.S. diplomats in Beirut
had telephoned Lebanese government officials to offer their
support.<br><br>
"The demonstrations ... are aimed at toppling Lebanon's legitimate
and democratically elected government," Casey said. "And
certainly threats of intimidation or violence isn't something that I
think anyone would consider democratic or a constitutional mechanism for
changing government."<br><br>
Heavily armed soldiers and police had closed all roads to downtown,
feverishly unfurling barbed wire and placing barricades.<br><br>
Despite Hezbollah's assurances the protests will be peaceful, the heavy
security came amid fears the protests may turn into clashes between pro-
and anti-Syrian factions or that Hezbollah supporters could try to storm
Saniora's government headquarters.<br><br>
Hezbollah's security men, donning caps, formed two lines between the
protesters and the security forces to prevent clashes.<br><br>
"I wish that the prime minister and his ministers were among us
today, not hiding behind barbed wire and army armored carriers. He who
has his people behind him does not need barbed wire," Michel Aoun, a
Christian leader and Hezbollah ally, told the crowd.<br><br>
Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has not made a public appearance
since a September rally for the militant group, could not be seen Friday.
But his speeches, blared through loudspeakers, drove the crowd wild with
cheers.<br><br>
At the rally, some protesters occasionally cried "Death to
Israel" and "We want Feltman's government to go," in
reference to Lebanon's U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.<br><br>
"We don't want the (U.S.) Embassy inside the prime ministry,"
said one demonstrator, Mahmoud Zeineddin.<br><br>
Inside, Saniora went about his schedule, in what appeared to be a tactic
to ignore the throngs outside. A day earlier, he vowed his government
would not fall but warned that "Lebanon's independence is threatened
and its democratic system is in danger."<br><br>
A demonstration last week for a slain anti-Syrian politician also drew
hundreds of thousands of people downtown, filling Martyr's Square. But
Friday's appeared larger, as protesters swarmed not only that square but
others, as well as nearby streets and parking lots.<br><br>
Supporters planned to set up camp around the clock in tents erected on a
road outside Saniora's office and in a downtown square.<br><br>
Hezbollah has tried to depict the protest as rallying all Lebanese, not
just its supporters. It urged demonstrators to wave only the red and
white Lebanese flag with its green cedar tree, in contrast to past
protests that featured the group's yellow flag with a fist and
Kalashnikov rifle. <br><br>
The battle is a fallout from the summer war between Hezbollah and Israel
that ravaged parts of Lebanon. The guerrilla force's strong resistance
against Israeli troops sent its support among Shiites skyrocketing,
emboldening it to grab more political power. Hezbollah also feels Saniora
did not do enough to support it during the fight. <br><br>
Pro-government groups, in turn, resent Hezbollah for sparking the fight
by snatching two Israeli soldiers, dragging Lebanon into war with Israel.
<br><br>
French presidential candidate Segolene Royal, on a Middle East tour,
called Friday for the soldiers' release. <br><br>
"The liberation of the two soldiers is absolutely vital," Royal
told reporters. She said she might bring the subject up in meetings later
Friday with Hezbollah officials, though "perhaps not publicly."
<br><br>
Government supporters accuse Syria of being behind the Hezbollah
campaign, trying to regain its lost influence in its smaller neighbor.
Hezbollah and its allies, in turn, say the country has fallen under U.S.
domination and that they have lost their rightful portion of power.
<br><br>
Tension have been running high between Sunni Muslims, who generally
support the anti-Syrian government, and Shiites, who lead the pro-Syrian
opposition, and Lebanon's Christians, who are divided between the two.
<br><br>
In a stark sign of the divide, the spiritual leader of Lebanon's Sunnis,
Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Kabbani, gave Friday prayers at the prime
minister's headquarters in a show of support for Saniora, a Sunni.
<br><br>
"Fear has gripped the Lebanese," Kabbani said, appealing for
the protests to end. "The constitution guarantees freedom of
expression, but trying to overthrow the government in the street is a
call for stirring up discord among people, and we will not accept
this." <br><br>
Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheik Naim Kassim, made it clear the fight is
against "American tutelage" and said the protest action will
continue until the government falls. <br><br>
"We will not let you sell Lebanon, we will protect the constitution
and people of Lebanon," Kassim said on television Friday, addressing
Saniora. <br><br>
The United States has made Lebanon a key front in its attempts to rein in
Syria and its ally, regional powerhouse Iran. President Bush warned
earlier this week that the two countries were trying to destabilize
Lebanon. <br><br>
Lebanon has witnessed a string of assassinations of anti-Syrian figures
over the past two years, including a prominent Christian government
minister gunned down last week and former prime minister Rafik Hariri,
who was killed in a February 2005 bombing<br><br>
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