The presidents of Syria and Lebanon yesterday opened talks on Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon, setting in motion the process of implementing Damascus' decision to bring home its 14,000 troops.
The meeting comes amid intense US-led international pressure on Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon and to stop interfering in its smaller neighbor's affairs.
Lebanon's defense minister on Sunday said a withdrawal of troops would begin after the summit. But in the mountains east of the Lebanese capital of Beirut, there was no sign of Syrian soldiers preparing to leave their positions at midday yesterday. Soldiers near the mountain resort of Aley, an area slated to be vacated by the Syrians eastward, went about their daily routine. Several walked back and forth in front of a position, waving at a car to keep moving as it drove closer.
In Beirut, more than 5,000 anti-Syrian demonstrators gathered at central Martyrs' Square, chanting "Syria Out!" Many more were still streaming to the square, where most waved Lebanon's flag. Yesterday's demonstration marked three weeks since the Feb. 14 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri that began a peaceful campaign against Syrian control.
Some in the crowd carried large photographs of Hariri. One group carried a banner that read, "Today we have one target: To liberate our land."
The crowds chanted, "Freedom, sovereignty, independence!" and sang the national anthem. Butros Harb, an opposition lawmaker, told the demonstrators: "God willing, today they will decide to leave our country. We want nothing except independence."
Anti-Syrian sentiment in Lebanon has soared since Hariri's death, which many Lebanese have blamed on Damascus and their own country's pro-Syrian government. Both governments deny such claims.
In Hariri's hometown of Sidon, in southern Lebanon, unknown assailants attacked sleeping Syrian workers on Sunday night with wooden boards and sharp metal objects, injuring three, Lebanese security officials said. It was the latest in a series of attacks against Syrian workers in Lebanon.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, leading a Lebanese delegation that included the prime minister, the parliamentary speaker and the foreign minister, was meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad at the hilltop People's Palace.
The Syrian-Lebanese security committee will meet directly after the meetings of the presidents and receiving their instructions, Lahoud's media adviser Rafik Shalala told reporters.
On Sunday, Lebanese Defense Minister Abdul-Rahim Murad said that the Syrian withdrawal from central and northern Lebanon toward the Bekaa Valley would begin right after the presidential meeting. Assad and Lahoud will decide on the timetable of the pullback and repositioning of forces, he added.
Assad insists his decision to pull back his forces -- which have been based in Lebanon since the early stages of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war -- is not a result of pressure that has mounted against his government since the assassination.
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