Hundreds of thousands of protesters thronged central Beirut on Sunday for a rally called by the Hizbullah-led opposition, escalating their push to oust Lebanon's government.
Opposition supporters have paralysed the heart of the capital since December 1 in a round-the-clock protest aimed at forcing Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to form a government of national unity. "Siniora out," the crowds chanted. During the rally, Hizbullah’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem called on the Premier to resign “to preserve your dignity and honor as well as Lebanon’s honor after the Israeli government pledged support for you.”
On his part, Siniora told a conference on Sunday the future of Lebanon was at stake, but added he thought the country's democracy was strong enough to absorb the shock of the protests. "Our political, security and economic lives, our whole system, is facing a major challenge," he said, according to Reuters. "This challenge covers the vision of Lebanon's future, the future of its system and its place in the region and the world.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah has accepted an Arab League proposal to resolve the crisis, an Arab official said in Riyadh on Sunday. According to AFP, Mustafa Ismail, the envoy of Arab League chief Amr Mussa, "was informed in Damascus today of the Hizbullah leader's acceptance of the proposals submitted to him," the official said.
Ismail relayed the approval to Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora, who invited him to return to Beirut, the official added. He did not detail the plan, saying only that it has seven points.
© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
