A Show of Strength from Hizballah
The terror gang Hizballah and their tiny minority of extremist supporters turned out in the hundreds of thousands in Lebanon to intimidate advocates of freedom: Hizbollah Draws Vast Pro-Syrian Crowds in Beirut.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Lebanese flooded central Beirut Tuesday for a pro-Syrian rally called by Hizbollah that dwarfed previous Lebanese protests demanding that Syrian troops quit Lebanon.
As the mainly Shi’ite Muslim crowds thronged Riad al-Solh square, a security source said Syrian forces had begun moving eastward under a phased withdrawal plan announced Monday.
“The redeployment to the Bekaa Valley has started in line with the first phase,” the Lebanese source said.
The huge Hizbollah rally was the first major show of popular support for Syria in Beirut since the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri touched off daily anti-Syrian protests, mainly involving Maronite Christians.
Those protests, which drew tens of thousands Monday, take place in Martyrs Square, just 300 meters (yards) from the scene of the gathering organized by Hizbollah and its allies.
The rival demonstrations, each using the Lebanese cedar flag to show patriotism, reveal deep rifts in Lebanon over Syria’s role and international demands for Hizbollah to disarm.
Hizbollah and Lebanese security sources said one million people attended the rally, which Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah called to thank Syria for its “sacrifices” in Lebanon and to oppose a U.N. resolution saying militias must disarm.
Pro-Syrian protesters gather near the U.N building, seen at the right, during a pro-Syrian demonstration in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday March 8, 2005. The protest, organized by the Shiite Muslim militant Hezbollah, is meant to counter the almost daily anti-Syrian protests staged by the Lebanese opposition that had drawn tens of thousands. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
UPDATE at 3/8/05 7:55:44 am:
Here’s the ironic sentence of the day, from ABC News. (Hat tip: Baikal.)
Large cranes hoisted two giant red-and-white flags bearing Lebanon’s cedar tree. On one, the words, “Thank you Syria,” were written in English; on the other, “No to foreign interference.”