"We came to liberate our country."

Thousands march against Syria in Beirut

By ZEINA KARAM

Associated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hundreds of thousands of anti-Syrian demonstrators flooded the capital Monday in the biggest protest ever in Lebanon, surpassing the turnout for an earlier pro-Damascus rally organized by the Islamic militant Hezbollah. In a show of national unity, Sunnis, Druse and Christians packed Martyrs' Square as brass bands played and balloons soared skyward.

The rally, perhaps the biggest anti-government demonstration ever staged in the Arab world, was the opposition's bid to regain momentum after two serious blows: the reinstatement of the pro-Syrian prime minister and a huge rally last week by the Shiite group Hezbollah.

..."We came to liberate our country. We are coming to demand the truth," said Fatma Trad, 40, a Sunni woman wearing a headscarf. "I've been watching it all on television for the past month. Today, I wanted to be a part of it."

..."We want freedom. It is now or never!" said Rose Touma, a 55-year-old Christian, raising the Lebanese flag in one hand and, in her other, a picture of Hariri. "I thank God that I'm alive to witness this beautiful day."

...The only solemn moment was at 12:55 p.m., when protesters marked the exact time Hariri was killed Feb. 14. The silence was broken only by tolling church bells and the flutter of flags.

There were no official estimates of the crowd size, but Lebanon's leading LBC TV station and some police officers estimated it at about 1 million. An Associated Press estimate put the number at least 800,000. Either way it was the biggest demonstration ever in this country of 3.5 million.

..."We have everything to gain and nothing to lose anymore," said Ahlam Honeini, a Sunni mother of five who said she was ignoring her doctor's orders not to stand for long periods of time because of a slipped disc.

Responding to newspaper reports that authorities might ban protests, opposition leader Walid Jumblatt said: "No one confronts an entire people that wants freedom." And opposition lawmaker Fares Soeid said: "We will continue until all our demands are met."



____________________________________

"Freedom is the birthright and deep desire of every human soul, and spreading freedom's blessings is the calling of our time. And when freedom and democracy take root in the Middle East, America and the world will be safer and more peaceful."

--George W. Bush, March 5, 2005