Hezbollah takes to Beirut's streets

BEIRUT -- The radical Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah and its allies escalated Lebanon's month-long political crisis into a popular confrontation yesterday, sending hundreds of thousands of its supporters into the streets of downtown Beirut.

Hezbollah vowed to continue the protests until it succeeds in toppling the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and reorienting the country's future.

The city's tony downtown, to some a symbol of Lebanon's recovery from a civil war begun 15 years ago, was awash in red and white Lebanese flags, interspersed with banners bearing the colors of the political groups represented.

Sunlight reflected off coils of wire and barricades that encircled the government headquarters, where Siniora and other ministers have taken up residence.

But the crowd was less militant than celebratory, as the theater of the moment intersected with the drama of a struggle as decisive as any in Lebanon's history.

The dispute pits anti-Syrian politicians who control the government against pro-Syrian groups led by Hezbollah. John R. Bolton, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said yesterday that the demonstration was part of an "Iran-Syria-inspired coup d'état" in Lebanon.

During the rally, Michel Aoun, an influential Christian leader who is allied with Hezbollah, called on the prime minister and his Cabinet to resign.

"I wish that our prime minister and his ministers were here among us today rather than hiding behind army tanks and barbed wire," Aoun told the crowd. "The one who has support of his people does not need barbed wire."

The crowd erupted in cheers: "Saniora out! We want a free government!" Drums added a cadence to the sometimes deafening slogans broadcast by banks of speakers. Youths danced in circles, shouting, "Hey, hey, you government of thieves!"

Every so often, protesters shouted another slogan: "One Lebanon, one voice."

But the question playing out across Beirut yesterday, underneath the statue of one of Lebanon's founders, Riyadh al-Solh, was the one asked at Lebanon's independence in 1943 and often since: What kind of Lebanon?

In symbolism, numbers, and aims, the protest marked the country's entry into a momentous chapter, a collision of two Lebanons that have coexisted -- uneasily -- since the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri in February 2005, when dueling street demonstrations were staged downtown to protest or support the 29-year Syrian military presence in Lebanon.

Between the sides is almost no common ground.

They disagree over the country's priorities, about whether it should resist or accommodate Israel, and over the influence of foreign patrons, including the United States, France, Syria, and Iran. And they cannot agree on how much power should be held by Lebanon's Shi'ite community, the country's largest.

In addition to a political struggle ignited by Hezbollah's demand in October for a share of the Cabinet that would give it an effective veto over government decisions, competing narratives of the country's past and future are on display.

Both sides pronounce the same words: independence, sovereignty and national unity with two visions of what they represent. In broadcasts, both Hezbollah's leader, Hasan Nasrallah, and Siniora urged their supporters to fly the Lebanese flag, either at the protest or, for the prime minister's supporters, from their homes.

Each side speaks with sincerity, underlined by a desperation that the other poses an existential threat. Both claim a long list of martyrs, whether Hezbollah's dead in this summer's war with Israel or the anti-Syrian figures, including Hariri, who were assassinated in Beirut before or since.

And both sides speak of a majority they say they represent.

"The government ruling us right now is dictatorial. It's a minority claiming to be a majority," said Boudy Mbarak, a 24-year-old supporter of Aoun from the village of Balouneh. "And I think we're showing today who's the majority."

Hezbollah has said the demonstrations in downtown Beirut will be open-ended. Long after nightfall, tents went up in the downtown area, where as many as 5,000 people were expected to stay permanently, probably sleepless given the speakers that blared late into the night.

If the protests do not force the government's resignation, Hezbollah's supporters have talked about resignations from parliament or civil disobedience to shut down ministries.

"We don't want this to take too long, but the decision is in their hands," said Ali Younis, a 35-year-old resident of the Shi'ite-dominated southern suburbs who brought his three children. One carried a sign that read: "We want a clean government."