The Road to Damascus

The Lebanese Daily Star reports:

Opposition politicians led the march, followed by students and citizens of all ages clad in red and white, the colors of the Lebanese flag and the anti-Syrian uprising. Some banged on pots, while others carried mops in response to Jumblatt's pledge that the Lebanese people will "swipe away the dirt," of the Syrian intelligence and the pro-Syrian government.

At 12:55 p.m., the exact time of Hariri's murder, a deathly silence descended on the crowd as the multitude of protesters observed a moment of silence. Showing their support in Doha, Kuwait and Paris, scores of protesters gathered in support of the opposition and to commemorate Hariri's murder. Kesrouan MP Fares Boueiz said, "This is an intifada. People from all religions and areas have come here to cry out for freedom, sovereignty and independence."

The Jerusalem Post posts this:

But the calls were loudest in Beirut, where over 100,000 Lebanese took to the streets yelling "Out with Syria." The city had not seen such a large protest since the end of the civil war in 1990. At 8:55 p.m. they all stood for a minute's silence – in the place and at the time the fatal explosion went off a week ago.

Waving banners reading "Independence 2005" and sporting scarves in the national colors of red and white, the protesters then marched to Martyrs' Square, where they held their demonstration against Syria and their government. The military and police were out in full force, but they were accepting flowers and did not interfere with the streams of demonstrators who walked past their roadblocks.

Tens of thousands took to the streets in Beirut yesterday to protest Syrian involvement in Lebanon. Lebanon has a long tortured history of division by ethnic strife. This is a country where ethnic hatreds rage long and reaches deep into the national psyche. And yet, Hariri’s assassination has done what many thought could not be done; Druze, Shiite, Sunni, and Christian have finally found common cause and ground. That fact alone should be giving the Syrians a long pause. And yet, the best Damacus could do is issue the refrain "leave soon" according to the Taef Agreement.

In a bid to ease tensions, Arab League chief Amr Mussa held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara. Assad is willing to withdraw Syrian troops from neighbouring Lebanon in line with the Taef accords that ended the civil war there, Mussa said. "During our meeting, President Assad expressed his firm desire, more than once, to continue implementing the Taef accord and to withdraw from Lebanon in keeping with this agreement," Mussa said after talks with Assad in Damascus. "The Taef and withdrawal from Lebanon are part of Syrian policy. Steps in these matters will be taken shortly," Mussa added.

The Taef Accord was created in 1989; 16 years after its conception the Syrians have yet to leave Lebanon. The Taef Accord gives no time table for the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon and only signals that the Syrians have the intent to do so "one day". There is no time like the present; and today would be better than tomorrow for taking the road that leads back to Damacus.