The uprising is still in a hopeful, early phase. Crowds gather by Hariri's grave each day, and tents have sprung up. Many demonstrators Monday snapped pictures of one another in the heady swirl on Martyrs' Square. Others brought their children to witness what they believe will be a cheerful moment in the country's history. Banks and other businesses remained shuttered in a one-day strike, their employees the vanguard of resistance for at least a day.
One sign of unity among Lebanon's opposition, a coalition of Christian, Druze and Sunni parties that control roughly a third of Lebanon's 128-seat parliament, was the absence of party banners on the square. Party leaders have ordered followers to wave only the national flag -- red-and-white striped with a cedar tree in the center. The uprising has been called the "red-and-white revolution."
Protesters carry Lebanese flags and a poster of slain former prime minister Rafiq Hariri during the demonstration in downtown Beirut.
(Jamal Saidi -- Reuters)
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Musicians, many of them supported in their early days by Hariri, have come together to produce "We Are the World"-style anthems commemorating the death of "the martyr," as they have dubbed the self-made billionaire who helped rebuild the city's battered downtown. "This Will Not Be the End" is the title of one musical collaboration, a song featuring some of Lebanon's biggest names. Another song, "Beirut Is Crying," rang out on the square.
Future Television, the channel Hariri founded, is devoting all of its programming to covering the political activity and grieving that have followed his murder, now being investigated by a U.N. commission. But even the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., whose shareholders include two pro-Syrian government ministers and a Saudi prince who was a business rival of Hariri's, offer little besides commentary on the case and live shots from his flower-strewn grave.
"We're going to get results this time," said Robert Zaarour, 31, a civil engineer from Byblos, a seaside resort north of Beirut, as he joined the demonstration.
The U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for the region, David M. Satterfield, now on an official visit to Lebanon, has reaffirmed the U.S. position that Syria must withdraw its troops and intelligence agents immediately. But Syria's president, Bashar Assad, has been buying time with concessions that many Lebanese worry will appease the Bush administration, including Syria's delivery on Sunday of Saddam Hussein's half brother to Iraqi security services.
The move, along with vague pledges to redeploy troops to the Bekaa, came after warnings by Syrian officials that a withdrawal would lead to violence, including inside the volatile Palestinian refugee camps that were armed years ago by Syrian intelligence services.
"Lebanon has always been a hostage to international decisions, and now we really need them on our side," Zaarour said. "Syria says Lebanon depends on them for security, but I say it's the other way around. They depend on us. They have been sucking our blood for years."
The rebellion has put Hezbollah, more than any other Lebanese party, in a delicate position. Along with Amal, another Shiite party, Hezbollah represents the vast majority of Lebanon's Shiite population -- a plurality, at least, of Lebanon's 4 million people.
Hezbollah enjoys a heroic reputation among many Lebanese of all religions for its armed resistance to the Israeli occupation of a part of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000, and it has been planning to capitalize on favorable demographics and a disciplined party structure to expand its political base outside the Shiite south. It commands 12 seats in parliament, a bloc expected to help the government survive a no-confidence vote in the coming days. Hezbollah also operates a sizable militia and frequently engages in armed exchanges with the Israelis.
The opposition and Hezbollah "share the same values," said Amin Gemayel, a former Lebanese president and a prominent member of the Christian opposition. "Hezbollah is for the sovereignty of this country. Many Shia are deeply concerned by what is happening."
But Mohammed Afif, a Hezbollah spokesman, said the party had no intention of joining the opposition. If Hezbollah were to join, it would also be essentially agreeing to calls for it to give up arms under the terms of the U.N. resolution passed last year. Hezbollah officials say the arms are still needed as a defense against Israel.
"Whatever the nature of the American project in the Middle East, Lebanon will not be able to change its geography," Afif said. "As long as Israel is on the other side of the border, Lebanon and Syria will be in the same bunker. We share a bilateral destiny."
