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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: January 18, 2006 |
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Thousands of pro-Syrian Lebanese protested near the U.S. Embassy Tuesday against what they called American meddling in the country's affairs.
Three days ago police violently broke up a similar demonstration that coincided with the visit of a key U.S. envoy to the Middle East.
Tuesday's protest occurred during a visit to the Middle East by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who made stops in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Waving Lebanon's red, green and white flag, students and political activists from 18 pro-Syrian groups, including the militant Hezbollah organization, chanted in unison "Death to America!" and "Beirut is free! Free! America get out!"
During the one-hour protest, demonstrators also chanted support for Syria and Iran - the United States' main opponents in the Middle East.
About 150 riot police held the protesters behind a barricade of barbed wire about 500 meters (yards) from the heavily fortified embassy compound in Aukar, northern Beirut.
Police estimated the crowd at 17,000. A Hezbollah official put the number at 25,000.
Veiled Shiite Muslim students took part, carrying placards denouncing the United States. "We reject American tutelage over Lebanon and we support Hezbollah's weapons. We don't want America to interfere in Lebanon," said Zahraa Ali Muslimani, 16, one of the women students.
A protest organizer told the crowd through a loudspeaker that U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman had become "a delivery man whose job is not to deliver McDonald's meals but conspiracies."
Pro-Syrians accuse the United States of trying to influence Lebanon since Syria was forced to withdraw its troops from the country last April after massive international and Lebanese pressure over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The United States is one of several Western countries that backed a U.N. Security Council resolution in 2004 that demanded an end to Syrian interference in Lebanon and the disarming of all militias in the country - a reference to the pro-Syrian Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, which the United States lists as a terrorist organization, has refused to disarm, saying it is defending Lebanon from Israeli attacks. Hezbollah led a guerrilla war against Israel's 18-year occupation in south Lebanon that ended in 2000. |
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