Lebanese PM quits in face of mass protests

In Lebanon Jubilant opposition supporters have vowed to carry on with their protest in central Beirut in a bid to drive Syrian forces from the country after the collapse of the Damascus-backed government. The pro-Syrian government of Prime Minister Omar Karami resigned on Monday after two weeks of protests, piling more pressure on Damascus, already under fire from the United States and Israel.

Yesterday, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Omar Karami announced his government’s dramatic resignation as more than 25,000 demonstrators defied a government ban on protests, flooding the streets in Beirut in opposition to the government, Syrian occupation and the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The protesters gave red roses to soldiers and police, who by and large allowed the demonstrations to proceed. “Syria out!” yelled the flag-waving protesters. Under intense public pressure over its allegiance to Syria, the Lebanese government abruptly resigned Monday even though it appeared likely to have survived a no-confidence vote in parliament.

The resignation came as more than 25,000 protesters gathered near parliament to demand that the government step down after the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, two weeks ago. Many Lebanese have blamed Hariri’s killing on Syria and its Lebanese allies.

Syria, which has kept thousands of troops in the country since 1975, has denied involvement in the Feb. 14 bombing that killed Hariri. Even if Syria was not behind Hariri’s death, it is likely to pay the political cost as international pressure mounts on it to end its political and military dominance over Lebanon.

Minutes after Prime Minister Omar Karami announced he was stepping down, jubilant demonstrators shouting, waving flags and handing red roses to soldiers demanded that Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud bow out, too, and pressed on with their calls for Syria to withdraw its troops from the country.

Syria remained silent about the rapidly changing atmosphere in Beirut, where it ruled unopposed for years, even deciding on the Lebanon’s leaders, after deploying troops ostensibly as peacekeepers during the 1975-90 civil war.