Siniora defiant as Lebanon opposition calls protest
Source: Reuters
(Updates with Siniora remarks) By Nadim Ladki BEIRUT, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A defiant Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said he would not stand down after Pro-Syrian Hezbollah and its allies called for a mass protest in Beirut on Friday to try to force out the government Siniora told the nation the opposition wanted to stage a coup against the democratic system in Lebanon and vowed his anti-Syrian cabinet would not fall. "Fellow Lebanese we have ahead of us decisive days for Lebanon and its future...," Siniora said in a live broadcast on Thursday. "We will not allow the coup against the democratic system, its rules and institutions. "There is no way to topple the government except through parliament which has given it its vote of confidence," he said. Siniora's anti-Syrian majority says the Hezbollah-led campaign wants to turn the clock back on last year's "Cedar Revolution" -- large protests that forced Syria to pull out its forces and elections that swept the coalition to power. Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah and its main allies -- the Shi'ite Amal Movement of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Free Patriotic Movement of Christian leader Michel Aoun -- say they want greater participation in decision-making and better representation in government to reflect their political weight. Many Lebanese fear that large-scale protests could lead to street violence, deepening the political crisis and pushing Lebanon towards chaos amid escalating sectarian tension. An opposition statement on Thursday called for a demonstration and open-ended sit-in in central Beirut on Friday to demand formation of a national unity government. "All of you Lebanese -- regardless of where you come from, your beliefs, your sect or religion -- are invited to a peaceful, civilised popular movement," Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address. Nasrallah has repeatedly criticised Siniora's cabinet over what he says was its failure to back Hezbollah during its war with Israel this summer, accusing some of the majority leaders of hoping at the time his group would be crushed. STREET CLASHES? Maronite Christian Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir said he opposed any action on the streets and said protests and sit-ins would complicate, not resolve, the crisis. "What will happen if some people took to the street and they were confronted by some other people? In the end there would be a clash and we don't know what the end result would be," he said. The Lebanese army has said it would be neutral in the political standoff but would intervene to stop violence or attempts to storm government buildings. Thousands of soldiers and police have been deployed in the streets of Beirut since the Nov. 21 assassination of anti-Syrian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel. The protest will take place near the government offices and parliament in central Beirut, scene of Lebanon's largest protests last year. Six opposition ministers resigned this month, weakening Siniora's government. Hezbollah and its allies said they pulled out their ministers after the majority coalition rejected their demands for a decisive say in government. The anti-Syrians say they quit to derail plans for an international tribunal to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in 2005. A U.N. inquiry has implicated Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the assassination. Syria denies involvement. Siniora's depleted cabinet approved U.N. plans last week for the special court for the Hariri trial. (Additional reporting by Leila Bassam and Tom Perry)
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