Anti-Syria Rally Draws Huge Crowd

Waving flags and chanting “Syria out!” hundreds of thousands of protesters thronged the Lebanese capital Monday in the largest rally since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri a month ago, which had touched off unprecedented public calls for Syria to end its nearly 30-year occupation.

After weeks of back-and-forth rallies by both sides, Monday’s demonstration was an effort by opposition leaders to regain momentum after a massive pro-Syria protest last Tuesday organized by the Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah. An official count of Monday’s crowd was not available, but the private Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. estimated attendance at 1 million, about a quarter of the country’s population and double the turnout of the Hezbollah protest.

There were no reports of violence as protesters turned Martyrs Square into a sea of red, green and white Lebanese flags. Many carried placards demanding Syria’s withdrawal and information on Hariri’s killing, and they wore the sky-blue ribbons that have come to symbolize their demand for answers.

Streets were so jammed that thousands of demonstrators left their cars roadside and walked miles to get downtown. Many schools canceled classes so students could attend. As with previous opposition protests, this one was dominated by young people, many wearing fashionable jeans, designer T-shirts and wraparound sunglasses.

Protesters criticized Lebanon’s pro-Syria government for what they called the lack of progress in the investigation into the Feb. 14 explosion that killed Hariri as his car traveled along a seafront boulevard. In a shift from previous rallies, President Emile Lahoud was the target of pointed denunciations, with opposition politicians and protesters calling on him to step down.

Opposition leaders had sought a massive turnout to claim a public mandate against Syria’s presence and the current government. Analysts said the rally would increase pressure on Prime Minister Omar Karami to meet a range of opposition demands. Karami resigned Feb. 28 in the face of growing protests, but Hezbollah’s show of strength last week emboldened the government to reappoint him.

“I see this as a vote of no confidence in the regime,” said Adnan Iskandar, a political analyst here. “Today’s demonstration was a referendum to a great extent.”

The gathering also could bolster support for opposition politicians in parliamentary elections later this spring.

“Pro-Syrian candidates will have a much more difficult time now,” Iskandar said.

Monday’s crowd was largely composed of Maronite Christians, Druze and Sunni Muslims, many of whom arrived by car and bus from all over Lebanon. Hariri was a Sunni, and organizers made a big push to boost the sect’s presence over that of past protests to include a wider slice of the population.

Karami plans to begin talks with political figures today in hopes of forming a government. He has said he wants to defuse political tension by getting members of the opposition to join a broad-based Cabinet.

But opposition leaders have said they will not consider that until Syrian troops and intelligence officers leave and the Lebanese government appoints an international commission to look into Hariri’s killing. A United Nations team is reviewing evidence gathered by authorities here but is not in charge of the investigation. The opposition also wants top security and intelligence officials fired.

Syria sent troops into Lebanon in 1976 in a bid to quell that country’s civil war. After it ended in 1990, the soldiers were supposed to gradually leave, but Damascus instead maintained de facto control over its neighbor.

Resentment against Syria and its Lebanese allies has been building for years. It rose sharply after Lebanon’s parliament changed the constitution in September to extend the president’s term three years, a move pushed by Damascus.

Hariri resigned as prime minister in protest, and after he was slain, large demonstrations erupted as many people blamed Syria and its allies in Lebanon for plotting the assassination, or at least failing to prevent it.

“In September, we said the extension was the beginning of the end of this era. Now in March, we say that the end is near,” Druze opposition figure Marwan Hamadeh told the crowd Monday. Hamadeh, a member of parliament, also quit his Cabinet post after Lahoud’s term was extended. He later survived a car bombing that remains unsolved.

Karami has said he will step aside if he cannot bring the opposition into his government. Terms of a final Syrian withdrawal would probably have to be approved by a new Cabinet.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has agreed to a phased pullback of Syria’s approximately 14,000 troops. Many of those soldiers already have been shifted from northern and central Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley, closer to Syria’s border. Several thousand have reportedly crossed back into Syria.

U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, who met with Assad on Saturday, said the Syrian leader had agreed to a full withdrawal, as demanded by a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last fall. Assad indicated that the last phase would happen only after military officials from both nations met in April. Roed-Larsen did not disclose a timetable.

The United States and France sponsored the U.N. resolution. President Bush has urged Syria to pull its troops and intelligence officers out before Lebanon’s elections, which must be held by the end of May.

Assad’s latest comments boosted hopes among demonstrators that Syria’s full withdrawal was near. When that happens, they say, Lebanon can focus on changing its own government. “When we get our freedom, we will talk about the government. It’s useless now,” said George Azar, a 36-year-old banker. “We are on the right track now. We have to be patient.”

Special correspondent Rania Abouzeid contributed to this report.