Lebanonwire.com | Lebanese PM quits in face of mass protests over Hariri murder

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February 28, 2005

Lebanese PM quits in face of mass protests over Hariri murder
by Nayla Razzouk

BEIRUT, Feb 28 (AFP) - Lebanon's pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karameh resigned on Monday in the face of mass protests, bringing to a head a political crisis sparked by the murder two weeks ago of his predecessor Rafiq Hariri.

"I announce the resignation of the government over which I had the honour of presiding so that it does not pose an obstacle" to the probe into the killing, an emotional Karameh told parliament in a decision that plunges the country into new political turmoil.

The announcement was greeted with loud applause in the national assembly, where the opposition had been seeking a vote of no confidence in Karameh's four-month-old government.

Outside, fireworks and car horns greeted news of the resignation, that was later accepted by President Emile Lahoud who nonetheless asked the premier to stay on on a caretaker basis.

Tens of thousands of jubilant demonstrators, gathered in a sea of red and white Lebanese flags at the nearby Martyrs' Square in central Beirut, broke into singing the national anthem.

"Your turn will come, Lahoud, and yours, Bashar," the demonstrators chanted, referring to the president and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.

The crowd, estimated to number some 60,000, had defied a government ban on demonstrations and massed in the heart of Beirut as parliament held the debate on Hariri's murder in a huge February 14 bomb blast.

Making his announcement, Karameh said he was resigning even though the government had enough votes to win a confidence motion.

"To fire off political accusations pinning the responsibility of this criminal murder on the government without any proof is a grave injustice," he said in an earlier session of the house before a recess.

Karameh's cabinet took office after Hariri, a five-time prime minister and billionaire businessman, resigned in October in a row over Syrian influence in his country.

The resignation came exactly two weeks after the assassination which triggered a wave of public opposition against the Lebanese government and its backers in Damascus who are widely blamed for the murder.

Shouting "Syria out!" protesters descended on Martyrs' Square where Hariri is buried as hundreds of heavily armed troops and police guarded nearby streets but did not prevent the rally.

Many spent Sunday night at the square despite the ban on protests coming into force. And shops, banks, schools and businesses were closed in Beirut and other main cities following a call for a general strike.

Syria insisted the resignation was an "internal matter" for Lebanon but added that it hoped to see the formation of a new government that would extricate the country from the "current extremely delicate circumstances."

Washington said it was watching developments "with great interest".

"The resignation of the Karameh government represents an opportunity for the Lebanese people to have a new governement which is truly representative of their country's diversity," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Leading opposition figure Walid Jumblatt hailed the display of people power.

"The people have been victorious but we should now form an impartial government to supervise the elections" due by the end of May, said the Druze leader.

But Jumblatt also called for the anti-Damascus camp to avoid "chauvinist slogans against Syria, with whom we are determined to have healthy relations".

In a reminder of the dangers of a return to the violence of the civil war, a supporter of the outgoing premier was shot dead outside Karameh's home in the northern port of Tripoli, medics and witnesses said.

Since the murder of Hariri, international pressure has mounted on Syria to end its dominance of Lebanese political affairs and pull out its 14,000 troops stationed in the country.

Assad, in an interview published on Monday, again rejected accusations that Damascus had a hand in the bomb attack, which killed 17 other people as well as Hariri.

"If we really killed Hariri, that would be political suicide for us. Beyond ethical and human principles, the question is, who benefits from the crime?

Certainly not Syria," he told the Italian daily La Repubblica.

Washington's number two Middle East pointman, David Satterfield, called again on Syria to start pulling out its troops before the elections in Lebanon, in line with a UN Security Council resolution adopted in September.

"We want to see free and fair elections take place this spring," he told reporters after meeting Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmud Hammud.

"It's important that steps take place on the ground prior to those elections including the beginning of the implementation of Resolution 1559."

Resolution 1559 calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon and respect for its sovereignty but a specific reference to Syria was deleted from the final text.

Lebanese Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad announced last Thursday an imminent Syrian military pullback to the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, but there have still been no signs of the redeployment.