Pro-Syrian government steps down in Lebanon

MIDDLE EAST: Lebanese prime minister Omar Karami announced his pro-Syrian government's resignation yesterday under pressure from Western powers and the parliamentary opposition, as protesters gathered at the centre of Beirut.

Mr Karami surprised deputies and public when he said: "I am keen that the government will not be a hurdle in front of those who want the good for this country. I declare the resignation of the government that I had the honour to head. May God preserve Lebanon."

Minister of tourism Farid Khazen had already tendered his resignation and others had threatened to follow suit.

This was the first session dedicated to the assassination on February 14th of former premier Rafik Hariri, killed by a car bomb many Lebanese blame on Syria.

Deputies directed a barrage of criticism at Mr Karami, who assumed office last October on the resignation of Mr Hariri. His sister, Bahiya Hariri, a legislator, dressed in black, demanded the government's resignation and called for a full inquiry into the assassination of her brother.

"All the Lebanese want to know their enemy, the enemy of Lebanon who killed the martyr Rafik Hariri, those who took the decision, planned and executed it, those who ignored and prevented the truth from coming out," she said.

Two hundred metres from the parliament building, a wild cheer went up from tens of thousands of Lebanese watching the debate on huge television screens which had been erected in Martyrs' Square, renamed Freedom Square, where Mr Hariri is buried.

Lebanese from all the country's communities - Christians, Sunnis, Shias and Druze - waved red and green national flags and took up the chants, "Syrians out" and "Lahoud, it's your turn".

Their aim is to force Damascus to withdraw its 14,000 troops from the country and compel President Emile Lahoud to stand down.

Last autumn Syria pressurised parliament to amend the constitution to give Mr Lahoud, an ally of Damascus, a three-year extension of his single six-year term in office. Mr Hariri disagreed and resigned.

At the time he died he was set to hold talks in Damascus about the coming parliamentary election, his return to the premiership, and a redeployment of Syrian troops.

With the aim of pre-empting an order banning popular assemblies, due to come into effect from early morning, many of the protesters had camped out over night.

Others burst through army roadblocks to reach the square. Organisers of the campaign to oust the government modelled the effort on the recent demonstrations in Ukraine and provided red and white scarves, blankets, food, water and portable toilets for those who gathered on Sunday. But yesterday the Lebanese army blocked the delivery of supplies to make demonstrators go home.

Mr Karami's resignation was the most dramatic outcome of sustained protests generated by the death of his predecessor. Official spokesmen in Damascus told The Irish Times that Mr Karami would be obliged to step down. However, they said the demand for Mr Lahoud's resignation was a "red line" for Syria.

In an interview published yesterday, Syrian president Bashar Assad said: "From a technical point of view, the withdrawal can happen by the end of the year. But from a strategic point of view, it will only happen if we obtain serious guarantees. In one word: peace with Israel."

He predicted that the US would make an armed attack on Syria. "I've seen it coming since the end of the war on Iraq," he said. Syria said last week that it would redeploy its troops to eastern Lebanon, closer to its border, but not withdraw them.

Following a meeting with the caretaker Lebanese foreign minister, Mahmoud Hammoud, US State Department envoy David Satterfield demanded that Damascus withdraw its troops as soon as possible and end its political involvement in Lebanese affairs. "The time has come for the Lebanese people to be able to face their own national decisions," Mr Satterfield said.

France, the former colonial power in Lebanon, and Britain have also been calling on Syria to leave promptly in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1559 adopted last autumn.