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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Schools Shut in Beirut amid Fears of Violence following Street Gatherings |
| 2011-01-19 |
| [An Nahar] Schools shut down in several Beirut neighborhoods Tuesday for fear of violence following early morning street gatherings by Opposition supporters. The gatherings came a day after Special Tribunal for Leb Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare announced he has submitted a confidential indictment into the liquidation of former PM Rafik Hariri. A security source told Naharnet the gatherings -- which took place in the predominantly Hizbullah and AMAL neighborhoods of Basta, Nweiri, Beshara Khoury, Zoqaq Blat, Salim Salam, Tayyouneh and Ouzai -- began disbanding around 8:00am. Lebanese troops sent reinforcements and were seen patrolling the streets. AMAL MP Ali Khreiss said reports about street gatherings are not true. "There is no decision to take street action despite the size of the conspiracy," he told the Voice of Leb radio station. "The gatherings this morning may signal preparations to mobilize in relation to the indictments handed down," a security official said. Education Minister Hassan Mneimneh issued a statement at mid-morning urging parents to bring their children back to school and saying that classes would resume normally. He said the situation in Beirut had "returned to normal" by late morning and that "tomorrow will be a normal school day." News Agency that Dare Not be Named news hounds saw at least four gatherings of up to 30 people each, dressed in black and carrying hand-held radios. One gathering was about 400 meters from the Grand Serail, the seat of government in downtown Beirut, and security officials closed the roads leading to the building. Lebanese security officials confirmed the gatherings, which appeared to be a show of force in the hours after a long-awaited indictment was released Monday evening in the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The indictment was sealed and its contents will likely not become public for weeks. But the court is widely expected to accuse members of Hizbullah of being involved in the killing, something the Shiite hard boy group has insisted it will not accept. Ghaleb Abu Zeinab, a member of Hizbullah's political bureau, said he is not aware of such gatherings. "I cannot comment," he said. The indictment, confirmed by the international court's headquarters in The Hague, is the latest turn in a deepening political crisis in Leb, where Hizbullah toppled the government last week in a dispute over the tribunal. Hizbullah fiercely denies any role in the killing and says the tribunal, jointly funded by U.N. member states and Leb, is a conspiracy by Israel and the United States. |
| Posted by:Fred |