Protests force government resignation in Lebanon
"PEOPLE POWER", "the cedar revolution", boomed the Western press after mass protests in the Lebanon forced the resignation of the pro-Syrian prime minister Omar Karami and his government.
Since the assassination of billionaire opposition politician Rafik Harari on 14 February thousands of people have defied the government's ban on protests and demanded its resignation and the removal of Syrian forces from the Lebanon.
Syrian troops, currently numbering around 15,000, have been in the country since the start of the 15-year long civil war in 1975/76.
Western governments especially the US but also France - the former colonial power (French president Jacques Chirac was politically connected to Harari) - have insisted that Syria (an "outpost of tyranny" according to George Bush) ends its occupation.
Bush hypocrisy
Bush has, of course, brushed aside calls for US and coalition forces to leave Iraq and has also ignored demands to pressure Israel's Ariel Sharon to withdraw from the Palestinian territories.
Syria's dictator, president al-Assad, already under pressure from US imperialism, vehemently denies assassinating Harari but undoubtedly has agreed to Karami's resignation to try and head off the developing mass protest movement against Syrian occupation. But the pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, remains in post.
Assad has also hinted at troop withdrawals but strategically fears that imperialism will then dominate Lebanon and threaten his regime.
US Republican neo-conservative Paul Wolfowitz has hailed the 'cedar revolution' as the further spread of Western democracy in the region. For proof, the White House points to the flawed elections in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories and Egypt's announcement of 'free' presidential elections.
However, what the region's masses desire is genuine democracy and an end to poverty, unemployment and exploitation. In fact, only by expelling imperialism and ending the rule of capitalism internationally can these demands be met.
A danger in the Lebanon is the absence of a mass socialist workers party to unite the different population groups. The latest constitutional crisis will be exploited by imperialism and the local sectarian capitalist politicians whose actions could easily plunge the country back into internecine warfare.
The mass protests of the last week appear to have been dominated by Sunnis, Christians and Druze, without the mass participation of Shias who make up 40% of the population.
Already, pro-government rioting in Tripoli has lead to the shooting dead of an opposition supporter. And last week, before the government fell, the Syrian-backed Hezbollah movement paraded 150,000 supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs to mark the holy Shia festival of Ashura.
Lebanon's working class has a long tradition of struggle which it must build upon to create the socialist forces needed to fundamentally change society.
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In The Socialist 5 March 2005:
United action to defend pensions
UNISON leaders vote not to ballot on NHS pensions
Let's have a decent minimum wage!
New Labour - guilty of destroying democratic rights
Socialist Party election campaign launched
Socialist Party national council report
Can George Bush's second-term offensive be defeated?
Protests force government resignation in Lebanon
Tsunami relief - the failure of capitalism
International Women's Day: Fighting the system that exploits us
United student campaign attacked in Israel
Northern Ireland: Horrific murder enrages local community
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