Lebanon's battle of the demos reached new heights this week, reports Lucy Fielder from Beirut According to the Lebanese army, Hizbullah, together with Christian former general Michel Aoun and allied parties, orchestrated the largest of the mass demonstrations Lebanon has yet seen, though Hizbullah's estimates of two million protestors are almost certainly exaggerated. Hundreds of thousands of people waving the Lebanese flag flooded into Martyrs Square and surrounding areas on Sunday. It was vast and it was peaceful, with a carnival atmosphere among the demonstrators. At a time when the Lebanese are retreating into sectarian identities and feel uncomfortable straying out of their areas protests have started to provide something of a release, at least for those taking part. Though underplayed by the media, the presence of Aoun's largely Christian supporters in the demonstrations of the past two weeks, and particularly Sunday, has been striking. Martyrs Square became a sea of orange. "We support a united nation," said Lamees Chaaya, a well- dressed woman in her forties. "We've been through civil war, we cannot live without the Muslims; they cannot live without us. I'm for a strong Lebanon and I see that in Aoun." "We didn't fight the Syrians to let Saad Hariri steal from us," protestor Abdo Achkar said. "We want a leadership and will never accept orders from Saudi Arabia." Aoun launched a disastrous war against the Syrians during the final stage of the 1975-1990 civil war and was a staunch opponent of Damascus's post-war military, security and political control of Lebanon. The opposition is demanding either early elections or a greater role in government. The current administration, they charge, is corrupt, incompetent, and collaborated with Israel during its ferocious bombardment of Lebanon this summer. On Thursday Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah outlined what he said was evidence of such collaboration in a fiery speech via satellite link to yet another rally of thousands. Members of "14th March" lobbied Washington, he said, to persuade Israel to launch its war on Hizbullah this summer. It also pressured the army to cut the movement's supply lines. The government denies the charges. An encampment of thousands of protesters has paralysed the centre of Beirut. Sunnis, in Beirut especially, remain squarely behind Saad Al-Hariri's Future Movement, and talk of a deepening Sunni-Shia rift is everywhere. On Friday Sunni preacher Fathi Yakan led prayers at the opposition camp, after Hizbullah urged Shiites to pray behind him in a show of Muslim unity. At the Grand Serail Prime Minister Fouad Al-Seniora and other ministers from the "14th March" anti- Syrian bloc -- named after their own massive rally on that date last year -- are holed up behind a barrier of razor wire and soldiers. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa flew into Beirut twice in a week to meet leaders of both sides and try to resolve the crisis. Sudanese Arab League envoy and presidential adviser Mustafa Ismail, also in Lebanon this week, said both sides were sticking to their positions on key points but he had obtained initial agreement from each on the proposal, as well as Syria's support. The key elements appear to be an amalgam of opposition and government demands: a national unity government, agreement to form an international court to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri, early presidential elections to end the government's stand-off with pro- Syrian President Emile Lahoud, and an international donor conference, long in the planning, to help Lebanon rebuild. Lahoud rejected a draft law this week setting up the international tribunal on the grounds that the cabinet that had passed the law was unconstitutional following the resignation of six ministers, five representing Hizbullah and the Shi'ite Amal movement, and one allied to the pro-Syrian president. Under the constitution two-thirds of the 24- member cabinet would have to resign for decisions to lack a quorum though the opposition argues that because Shias were unrepresented the decision is illegitimate. Behind the barricades the depleted cabinet voted to forward the draft to parliament for ratification nonetheless. Parliament Speaker and Amal leader Nabih Berri has so far refused to convene parliament while the crisis continues. Meanwhile, Serge Brammertz released the sixth UN report into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri. The report said the investigation had reached a "critical" stage and had identified suspects and witnesses, as well as possible links between the various bombings since October 2005. Many in Lebanon and abroad have pointed the finger at Syria, which denies any hand in the killing of Hariri and 22 others in a massive bomb blast. Brammertz said Syrian cooperation with the investigation remained "timely and efficient" but complained that 10 other unnamed states had not responded to requests from investigators. Brammertz made clear that his team was exploring a variety of motives. Hariri could have fallen victim to an extremist group because of his links to other states in the region and the West, the report said. His support for UN Security Council Resolution 1559 -- which called for an end to Syria's presence in Lebanon and the disarming of all remaining "militias", meaning the Palestinians and Hizbullah, may have been a reason, as might the extension of Lahoud's term under Syrian pressure. Hariri voted for the resolution only to promptly resign as prime minister in protest. Other possible motives under investigation include eliminating Hariri before the May 2005 elections; his involvement with the anti-Syrian newspaper An-Nahar or the possibility that Hariri was about to expose a major fraud concerning funds from Bank Al-Madina. "Another hypothesis under consideration is that apparently obvious motives were used by the perpetrators as a convenient cover, with the real intent being to propel other individuals into the frontline of accusation," said the report. True to form, Brammertz revealed no names in order not to prejudice the tribunal, which he said his commission still assumed would be created. (see p. 8)
