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Posted on 03/01/2005 10:43:51 AM PST by West Coast Conservative
Hundreds of protesters waving Lebanese flags returned to central Beirut Tuesday to demand Syria leave Lebanon as the United States and France offered to help the country hold free elections.
Officials began a complicated search for a new premier after two weeks of unprecedented protests forced the pro-Syrian cabinet of Prime Minister Omar Karami to step down Monday, piling pressure on Damascus.
Market fears of a political vacuum put the Lebanese pound under intense pressure, forcing the central bank to dip deeply into its foreign exchange reserves to defend the currency.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed what she called moves to restore democracy in Lebanon.
"Events in Lebanon are moving in a very important direction," she said in London. "The Lebanese people are starting to express their aspirations for democracy... This is something that we support very much."
Rice and French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier repeated calls for Syria to withdraw its 14,000 troops from Lebanon. Such calls have grown louder since the Feb. 14 assassination of ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri.
Washington and Paris, co-sponsors of Security Council resolution 1559 demanding an end to foreign interference in Lebanon, called for general elections planned for May to be free and fair and suggested international assistance.
"They must have the opportunity to chart their own course through free and fair parliamentary elections this spring, bolstered by an international observer presence prior to and during the elections," the countries said in a joint statement.
Thousands of demonstrators turned a square in Beirut into a sea of Lebanese flags Monday night and exploded into riotous celebration when the government unexpectedly quit after a parliament debate on Hariri's killing.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Waiting for Iranians to take to the streets.
Hopefully the Pro-Syria President will step down and then the Lebanese can elect some more nationalist leaders who won't take Syria's crap.
If Reuters says hundreds, it must mean thousands, unless they are covering a Pro-Life rally, in which case they reverse the order.
Put a troop ship off the shores of Tripoli and offer an immediate 1:1 replacement of Syrian troops in Lebanon. Heck, we could even have French troops on board to help make this happen.
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Chirac wants to help Lebanon hold free elections? Hmmmm...correct me if I am wrong, but I remember the EU (especially France) criticizing Bush for wanting to build democratic nations. They claimed it wasn't our job and we should just leave these people alone.
French Troops, an oxymoron.
chirac thinks hizbollah is a political party.
he will try his best to see that an anti-israel government is voted into power to boost his popularity at home in paris.
remember, france is now a muslim nation.
burkas: dumb idea!
i hope she knows that hand signal means victory, not peace!
Check out the "Independence 05" printed banner in the background. Someone needs to print up millions of them and air drop them all over the Middle East and North Korea.
you got that right!
correct the spelling though
unless "independAnce" is some sort of party where all the young protestors get together and burn up the hateful propaganda of their syrian/iranian/islamic oppressors!
torch those burkas, ladies!
Let Freedom RING!!!
I had a lebanese girlfriend many many moons ago. She was absolutely drop dead gorgeous.
When the youth of Iran see these pictures from Lebanon, they will rise up and organize.
Hopefully, the mullahs are already planning an exit strategy.
Freedom is on the march!
I read during that Oscars that Salma Hayek is part Lebanese. Seems to support the trend.
Maybe Burkas was a way to hide women like this, so infidel westerners couldn't see?
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