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Huge crowds at pro syria rally Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/03/08/lebanon.syria/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/03/08/lebanon.syria/
Huge crowds at pro-Syria rally
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of pro-Syrian protesters flooded into a square in front of the United Nations building in central Beirut Tuesday -- a counterpoint to anti-Damascus rallies in recent weeks.
The demonstrations came a day after Syrian President Bashar Assad and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud committed to the first stage of a withdrawal and made plans for the second stage, under which Syria says it will move all 14,000 of its troops in Lebanon back into Syrian territory.
The Lebanon-based Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah, which has support in Syria, called for the protests, focusing largely on condemnation of Israel.
Many Arabs see Hezbollah as heroic for helping drive Israeli forces from Lebanon.
Jerusalem pulled its troops from southern Lebanon in 2000.
Hezbollah has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against civilians and is listed by the United States and Israel as a terrorist organization. It remains an official party in Lebanon.
U.S. officials have called on both Lebanon and Syria to halt support for Hezbollah.
Syrian officials told CNN they are following U.N. Resolution 1559 as well as the Taif Accord, signed in 1989, which legitimized Syria's presence in Lebanon at the end of a bitter civil war there but called for a later withdrawal.
After Monday's announcement, Syrian Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha said the pullback to the Bekaa Valley will happen "in less than two or three weeks," and "all of our troops" will then be moved "into Syria itself."
Asked whether that will include Syrian intelligence personnel , he nodded his head and said, "Everybody. Everybody."
By late Monday, some troops had already begun to move to the Bekaa Valley, traveling along a highway lined with Lebanese troops.
There have been daily protests in Lebanon, with tens of thousands of people calling for the ouster of Syrian forces following the assassination three weeks ago of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Many Lebanese blame Syria for the bombing that killed Hariri and 16 others.
While the pro-Syrian Lebanese government denied having any involvement, it resigned amid the pressure.
Opposition leaders have demanded full and immediate withdrawal. And the White House -- which has been leading an international effort to push Syria out of Lebanon -- called Monday's agreement "a half measure that does not go far enough."
In addition to calling for the ouster of foreign forces from Lebanon, U.N. Resolution 1559 also called for "the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias" -- which includes Hezbollah.
The resolution said the Security Council is "gravely concerned at the continued presence of armed militias in Lebanon, which prevent the Lebanese government from exercising its full sovereignty over all Lebanese territory."
CNN Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler contributed to this report
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