 Thousands of demonstrators shouting "Syria Out!" rallied in downtown Beirut late on Sunday after opposition movements vowed to defy a ban on public demonstrations. Youngsters carrying the Lebanese flag were converging on Martyrs' Square, where the opposition has called for a peaceful sit-in on Monday in defiance of the ban, which comes into force at 0300 GMT. "We are going to hand out blankets, we are staying here," one of the demonstrators said by loudspeaker.
| Orange revolution is here... |
| The colors are Red and White this time. |
Hundreds of heavily armed troops were deploying with jeeps and trucks at all the main crossroads leading to the square. And hundreds of protesters stopped from getting to the square blocked nearby crossings, some of them shouting "we don't want any other army than the Lebanese army!" Interior Minister Sulaiman Franjieh earlier on Sunday outlawed all public demonstrations, on the eve of rival mass rallies called by the opposition and pro-government parties sympathetic to Syria.
| ... or it might be Tienanmen... |
The minister said the ban came "due to the current circumstances, in the supreme national interest and with a view to the requirements of protecting civil peace. All security forces are asked to take all necessary measures to protect security and order, and to ban demonstrations and gatherings on Monday." Opposition sit-ins have been held nightly for the 12 days since the assassination of five-time prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Leaders of the opposition maintained their call for Monday's sit-in after the government announced the ban. "Tomorrow residents of Beirut and those coming to it from across Lebanon will hold a sit-in in Martyrs' Square," they said in a statement. Leading opposition figure Elias Att Allah said: "The ban does not concern us, we are only holding a peaceful sit-in which will be maintained. Let them arrest us." |