Top > World > 2006 > December > 2006-12-05

Hundreds of Thousands Attend Rally in Beirut

Beirut, the capital of the Lebanon, was the scene of mass demonstrations over the weekend. Hundreds of thousands marched in the city, calling for the ruling Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora to step down and dissolve his government. The true number of participants who took part in the rally is still not known. Officials put the number to 200,000 but video footage shows that the number was much higher ? with some estimating that between 800,000 and 1-million people took to the streets.

The anti-Siniora rally was called by the Syrian-backed organization, the Hizbollah, under the leadership of Hassan Nasrallah. The group has been attempting to bring about a new civil war in this Middle Eastern country, and enjoys the support of Damascus and Teheran. Joining the Hizbollah in the rally were also members of the country?s opposition, including followers of the Christian opposition. Contrary to past mass protests of this nature, where demonstrators came out holding Hezbollah flags, most people carried Lebanese flags to show that they were acting for the good of the country and not one particular political party.

Lebanon has been in the throes of turmoil since political assassinations became the norm of the day, starting two years ago. It is in neighboring Syria?s best interest that there remains a strong Shi?ite presence in the Lebanese parliament. As such, many anti-Syrian politicians have been murdered in the past few years, including ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the latest victim, Minister of Tourism, Pierre Gemayel only last week. Many feel that this weekend?s mass rally was the catalyst for the beginning of a new civil war in Lebanon.