Anti-Syrian Protesters Flood Lebanese Capital
By Nadim Ladki
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of anti-Syrian protesters flooded central Beirut Monday in what witnesses said was Lebanon's biggest demonstration since former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri's killing exactly a month ago.
Flag-waving crowds from across Lebanon packed the capital's Martyrs' Square, near Hariri's grave, and swamped nearby areas to demand an international inquiry into his death, the sacking of Syrian-backed security chiefs and a total Syrian pullout.
In contrast to previous anti-Syrian protests since a bomb blast killed Hariri on Feb. 14, many Sunni Muslims joined Druze and Christians in taking to the streets. Hariri was a Sunni.
...
Organizers said a million people had joined the protest. No independent estimate was available, but witnesses said the rally looked even bigger than last week's pro-Syrian demonstration organized by Hizbollah and attended by hundreds of thousands.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7893678
I think this is great, in a tit-for-tat kind of way. If Hezbollah gets a million on the street in the next week, I can only hope these folks get 2.5 a couple days later.
Keep in mind that Lebanon has a population of 3.5 million. So if there's a million people on the streets saying Syria out, that really is a massive protest.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of anti-Syrian protesters flooded central Beirut Monday in what witnesses said was Lebanon's biggest demonstration since former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri's killing exactly a month ago.
Flag-waving crowds from across Lebanon packed the capital's Martyrs' Square, near Hariri's grave, and swamped nearby areas to demand an international inquiry into his death, the sacking of Syrian-backed security chiefs and a total Syrian pullout.
In contrast to previous anti-Syrian protests since a bomb blast killed Hariri on Feb. 14, many Sunni Muslims joined Druze and Christians in taking to the streets. Hariri was a Sunni.
...
Organizers said a million people had joined the protest. No independent estimate was available, but witnesses said the rally looked even bigger than last week's pro-Syrian demonstration organized by Hizbollah and attended by hundreds of thousands.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7893678
I think this is great, in a tit-for-tat kind of way. If Hezbollah gets a million on the street in the next week, I can only hope these folks get 2.5 a couple days later.
Keep in mind that Lebanon has a population of 3.5 million. So if there's a million people on the streets saying Syria out, that really is a massive protest.
posted by J. Edward Tremlett at 8:16 AM
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