Beirut protests keep pressure on
By Marks Cannon,WNS Lebanon Correspondent
BEIRUT - Lebanon's political crisis is continuing as demonstrators remain camped in the centre of Beirut in an attempt to bring down the government. Thousands of supporters of Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies are on the streets calling for Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government to go. Mr Siniora is refusing to step down to make way for a government that would include more of Hezbollah's allies. Arab countries are stepping up their efforts to help resolve the crisis. The head of the Arab League, Amr Musa, is visiting Beirut to offer to mediate between the government and the opposition, and envoys from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Tunisia are offering their help. Protesters, led mainly by the Shia militant political movement Hezbollah and its Christian allies, have been camping out in Beirut close to the prime minister's office since a huge anti-government rally on Friday. They accuse Mr Siniora of being too pro-Western and anti-Syrian and of failing the Lebanese people.
The current crisis was sparked last month when five Shia ministers and a Christian ally quit the government. Hezbollah had asked for cabinet seats that would give it and its allies power of veto but the majority group in parliament refused. The political tension was increased two weeks later with the assassination of a leading anti-Syrian minister, Pierre Gemayel. Despite the protests, several hundred runners took to the streets of Beirut for Lebanon's annual marathon. The organisers said the route had been changed slightly, and police and soldiers were deployed along the route. International concern has been growing.
On Saturday, the UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier were in the Lebanese capital to express their support for Mr Siniora and his government. Mr Siniora has said he will not be forced from office by mass protests and has vowed to stand firm against what he has called an attempted coup. The US has denounced what it described as "threats of intimidation violence" in Lebanon and accused Syria and Iran of instigating the protests to try to topple the democratically-elected government. The government came to office last year in the first election held after the withdrawal of Syrian troops originally stationed in Lebanon during the civil war. Syria was forced to withdraw its military presence after massive street protests and international pressure, triggered by the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
posted by wnsworld @ 6:16 PM
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