11 March 2005
BEIRUT: Flag-waving protesters descended on Martyrs' Square in central Beirut again last night to express their disappointment at outgoing Prime Minister Omar Karami's reappointment - and their determination to keep up the pressure on the government.
"We got him down once; we'll get him down again. We are staying here until he is down," said Chirine Ammar, a protester and a member of the Lebanese National Liberation Party.
He added: "We see Karami as a puppet for the Syrian game. The Syrians want him back, so he's back."
The protesters and tents are showing no signs of leaving Martyrs' Square anytime soon.
To Alaa Merhi, a member of the Progressive Youth Organization, it seemed the government either missed the point of the past three weeks' protests or is ignoring it.
He said: "We need a free government that is controlled from Lebanon and made in Lebanon. We don't want a prime minister made in Syria, and Karami is made in Syria."
This will be Karami's third time heading a government. In 1992, he stepped down as prime minister after the collapse of the Lebanese Pound.
"We aren't against Karami personally," said another protester who wished to remain anonymous. "It's what he and [President Emile] Lahoud represent; they are the Syrian regime in Lebanon. And with Karami coming back it feels like we are in a vicious circle. this feels like that movie, 'Ground Hog's Day, where everyday is the same.'"
Merhi said the protesters are planning another rally for this Monday with the aim of again demanding Karami step down.
