Opposition Declares Intifada to Rescue Lebanon from Syria's Tutelage

The Lebanese opposition declared an "uprising for independence" Friday and called for the pro-Syrian regime to step down so that a new government can be formed to oversee a Syrian military pullout from Lebanon. "In response to the criminal and terrorist policy of the Lebanese and Syrian authorities, the Lebanese opposition declares the democratic and peaceful intifada (uprising) for independence," said leading opposition figure Samir Franjieh. "We demand the departure of the illegitimate regime," Franjieh said, reading a final statement at the home of Druze leader Walid Jumblat after an opposition meeting at the Bristol hotel. Jumblat did not attend the meeting, for days after the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, for "security reasons," aides said. The meeting was attended by more than 40 of the parliament's 128 members, as well as dozens of political activists. The opposition called for "the formation of an interim government as a supreme national necessity to protect the Lebanese people and ensure the immediate and complete pullout of Syrian forces from Lebanon ahead of free and honest legislative elections." They also declared "the suspension of any political or legal debate in parliament before the truth is uncovered." "We call on parliament ... to hold a plenary session to discuss the series of assassinations which started with the attempt on Marwan Hamadeh, with the martyrdom of Rafik Hariri and the targeting of former minister (Bassel) Fleihan" in the same blast that killed Hariri.(AFP)