BEIRUT/AWKAR, 23 October 2003 — About 50 Lebanese pro-Syrian activists staged a demonstration on the road to the US Embassy here yesterday to protest a vote by US legislators to impose sanctions on Damascus.
“Whoever touches Syria alienates himself from all the Arabs,” read a banner carried by the demonstrators.
The marchers, outnumbered by the soldiers and police who surrounded them, gathered at a police barrier on the northern outskirts of Beirut and the road leading to Awkar, two kilometers away, where the embassy is located.
The US House of Representatives voted last week to sanction Syria for its alleged ties to terrorist groups and purported efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction.
The legislation also calls on Damascus to pull out its almost 20,000 troops deployed in Lebanon.
Before reaching President George W. Bush’s desk, the measure must be approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and then by the full Senate, which is expected in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, Amnesty International has urged Syria to drop all charges against 14 human rights activists who went on trial in Damascus yesterday on charges of trying to incite factional conflict.
The trial of the 14, held since August, was postponed until Nov. 20 because of a “procedural” issue, their lawyer said.
