Lebanese protesters slander Syria

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Tens of thousands of opposition supporters shouted insults at Syria and demanded the resignation of their pro-Syrian government at a Beirut demonstration Monday while signals from Damascus indicated it may begin withdrawing its army.\nThe massive protest -- the largest and loudest since the end of Lebanon's civil war in 1990 -- marked one week since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.\nIn Damascus, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said President Bashar Assad affirmed that Syria would take steps to withdraw its army from Lebanese areas in accordance with a 1989 agreement, but it was not clear whether that meant Syria would completely leave Lebanon. Syria has pledged before to honor the Taif agreement and has made only minor withdrawals.\nMoussa spoke after a meeting with Assad. Syria itself has made no announcements about troop withdrawals.\nThe four-hour Beirut protest passed without violence despite heavy military and police presence.\nBeating drums and waving Lebanese flags, those of their own parties and portraits of past leaders killed during the 1975-90 civil war, the protesters gathered at the site where Hariri was killed Feb. 14 in a bombing that the opposition blames on Damascus.\nSome in the crowd yelled "Syria out!" and "We don't want a parliament that acts as a doorkeeper for the Syrians," competing with loud insults shouted against Assad.\nProtesters wore scarves of red and white -- the colors of Lebanon's flag -- which have become the symbol of the opposition's "independence uprising," described as a peaceful campaign to dislodge the pro-Syrian government and force the Syrian army out of Lebanon.\nSome protesters carried banners reading "Independence" and chanted, "The government of puppets must fall," and "Enough blood, leave us alone."\nThe crowd was estimated in the tens of thousands, with many converging on downtown Beirut from all parts of the Lebanese capital.\n"It is my civic duty as a Lebanese to take part in this uprising," said Youssef Mukhtar, a 47-year-old engineer. "Enough bloodshed and disasters. It is the 21st century, and people should be able to govern themselves. The situation has become unbearable, and we have to regain our country."\nMany held pictures of Hariri and sang patriotic songs. Some protesters held a copy of the Quran in one hand and the cross in another hand to signify Muslim-Christian national unity.\nPolice and army troops in full battle gear stood guard without intervening, blocking roads with metal barriers. To prevent more potential protesters from reaching Beirut, security forces set up checkpoints on the northern and eastern entrances to the Lebanese capital.\nThe protest reached its peak shortly before 12:55 p.m., the time that Hariri's motorcade was blown up, killing him and 16 other people and wounding more than 100. The protesters, chanting "All for the Nation," the national anthem, observed a moment of silence at the exact time of the bombing and then began converging on the U.N. offices in the downtown Riad Solh Square to hand a letter to representatives of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.\nOn Sunday, Lebanon said it would cooperate with U.N. investigators looking into the assassinations, but stuck to its rejection of a full-fledged international inquiry.