Anti-Syrian demonstration defies government ban

Protesters gather overnight in Martyrs Square. Central Beirut is guarded by the Army. Today, parliament will discuss Hariri's killing and vote on a motion of no-confidence in the government.

A general strike shut down banks, schools and public and private businesses in line with an opposition call to coincide with the debate on Rafik al-Hariri's killing on February 14.

In today's parliamentary session the opposition will vote on a no-confidence motion against the government; it said security chiefs should be sacked and put on trial.

Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh called on security forces in a statement on Sunday "to take all necessary steps to preserve security and order and prevent demonstrations and gatherings on Monday".

Lebanese soldiers with assault rifles have fanned out in central Beirut, putting up metal barricades and barbed wire at road junctions leading to Martyrs Square, stopping people from entering the area, witnesses said.

Army checkpoints at roads into Beirut were also turning away cars and buses carrying people heading to the capital to take part in the demonstration. But the troops took no action against hundreds of demonstrators draped in Lebanese flags who had already gathered overnight to stage a sit-in in Martyrs Square, near Hariri's grave.

Protesters demand the government resign and chanted "Syria out" and "Freedom, sovereignty, independence". Large television screens were set up to allow the protesters to watch live coverage of the parliamentary session while patriotic songs blared from loudspeakers.

An army statement asked the Lebanese people not to gather, particularly in the streets around parliament. Scores of security forces blocked those streets ahead of what is widely expected to be a heated debate.

Opposition deputies and many ordinary Lebanese have held Syria and the Lebanese authorities either directly or indirectly responsible for Hariri's death in a car bombing. Damascus denies any role and has described Hariri's killing as an act of terrorism.

Opposition figure Walid Jumblatt earlier promised there would be defiance on Monday. "We are going ahead. They cannot prevent us from going down peacefully, democratically and paying tributes to Rafik al-Hariri on the day of the national parliamentary debate where our main aim is to ask who killed Hariri," he said.

Rafik al-Hariri died in a bomb attack on February 14. Some weeks before his death, he had joined the opposition's calls for Syrian withdrawal ahead of next May's parliamentary elections.

Lebanon has launched an investigation into the assassination but rejected calls for a full international probe.

Figures from across Lebanon's disparate opposition movement have seized on the public fury at Hariri's killing to demand that Syria pull out its 14,000 troops and intelligence services and that the Beirut government it backs resign.

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