Lebanese protesters stand firm

BEIRUT -- Protesters are taking turns to maintain an opposition presence of a few thousand people every evening on Martyrs' Square, renaming it ''freedom square" and hoping to keep up the pressure that helped force Lebanon's pro-Syrian government to resign on Monday.

Some are camping in tents around the Martyrs' statue beneath banners reading ''We want the truth" and ''Independence 05." Waving the red, green, and white Lebanese flag and singing nationalistic songs, they are trying to maintain their momentum for what is a long wish list of changes in Lebanon.

''The fall of the government is not the end of the story. We want all foreign troops to withdraw from Lebanon, and we want a neutral government," said architect Fadi Zeid, who comes to the square every evening. ''We're going to stay here until this is accomplished."

The unprecedented protests that led to the government's resignation started two weeks ago, in the aftermath of the slaying of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in a massive bombing on the Lebanese waterfront. The assassination shocked the Lebanese into challenging a long-held taboo: Syria's political and military presence in Lebanon.

Opposition figures immediately blamed Syria, Lebanon's political master, and the pro-Damascus authorities in Beirut for Hariri's death.

Syria has strongly denied the accusations, saying it had nothing to gain from killing Hariri, and certainly the aftermath of the bombing has brought nothing but pressure on Syria, from the United States and a growing list of European and Arab countries.

Syria's traditional ally Russia yesterday joined Germany and Saudi Arabia in calling on Syria to withdraw its estimated 14,000 troops from Lebanon.

But leading members of the opposition remain convinced that Syria had a hand in the killing and contend Damascus has a track record in eliminating Lebanese leaders who start to work on bridging the gap between Lebanon's different religious communities.

Analysts and diplomats who believe Syria is to blame say that Syria grossly underestimated the reaction, both international and local, that would follow the killing of Hariri. They speculate that Syria may have calculated that its sporadic efforts to act against Iraqi insurgents on the Syria-Iraq border would encourage the Americans to turn a blind eye to its activities in Lebanon.

The ferment is occurring in a context of increasingly vocal pressures for changes in the political systems in the Middle East.

''Syria needs to realize the region is changing and there is talk about democracy everywhere," said Farid el Khazen, professor at the American University of Beirut. ''The US wants to democratize the Middle East, and if there's a country where investment in democracy is fruitful, it's certainly in Lebanon. If you invest in free and fair elections in Lebanon, it's a good investment. Unlike in all other Arab countries where you have to start from scratch, here you just need a small push."

Even if two weeks of protests forced Lebanon's four-month-old Cabinet to resign, most analysts feel it is unlikely that ''people power" will achieve speedy results in doing away with Syria's pervasive influence in Lebanon.

Syria has had troops in neighboring Lebanon since 1976 when it intervened in Lebanon's civil war, ostensibly to try to quell the violence, and never left.

Some have described the resignation of the Cabinet as the beginning of the end of Syria's control over Lebanon, but others have cautioned that the resignation may have been a maneuver organized by Syria to try to let off steam.

''We can't say that Syria is loosening its grip over Lebanon, not yet. Their presence in Lebanon is manifested on many levels, through various parties and through the control of decision making at the highest level," said Hannah Anbar, associate publisher of Lebanon's English-language Daily Star newspaper. ''We don't know if people are going to get the change they want. Let's see what kind of government we're going to get; maybe it's even more pro-Syrian than this one."

Opposition leaders have so far maintained a united front and the protests have seen Christians, Druze, Sunnis, and Shi'ites come together in a rare show of unity, but it remains difficult to tell how strong or long-lasting that unity will be, especially considering that a couple of major political parties remain aligned with Syria.

In a statement on Wednesday, the opposition called for the immediate withdrawal of all Syrian troops before the legislative elections that are scheduled in May. It also demanded the resignation of top Lebanese security officials, who are seen as Damascus's hand in Lebanon.

''We are calling for the resignation of the security leaders because there's no point in bringing a new government if their agenda is going to be set by the security apparatus," said Ghinwa Jalloul, from Hariri's parliamentary bloc. ''People continue to come to Martyrs' Square because they are concerned about their safety, about their country. If Rafik Hariri -- with all his connections -- was killed, then no one is safe."