Reservists urging PM ouster drop focus on last 60 hours of Lebanon war - Haaretz

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Tue., January 29, 2008 Shvat 22, 5768

Israel Time: 11:19 (EST+7)

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Last update - 11:16 29/01/2008

Reservists urging PM ouster drop focus on last 60 hours of Lebanon war

By Lily Galili, Haaretz Correspondent

Tags: Israel, Second Lebanon War

An anti-Olmert campaign that began this week under the slogan "33 soldiers for spin" will be getting a new slogan Tuesday: "His spins will kill us."

The original slogan referred to the 33 soldiers killed in a ground operation launched 60 hours before the Second Lebanon War ended. The group of reservists who are running the campaign decided to change it due to leaks alleging that the Winograd Committee's final report will deem Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to launch the operation reasonable. They therefore decided to focus more generally on Olmert's character and his penchant for spin.

Last night, a group of women protesters stood outside Foreign Minister Livni's home and played a tape of her demand that Olmert resign following the Winograd Committee's partial report.

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Wednesday - the day of the final report's publication - the reservists plan a protest vigil in front of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's house. A major protest rally has also been tentatively planned for Saturday night in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, but a final decision will not be made until after the report is published.

Moshe Klughaft, a leader of the protest movement, said Monday that the reservists are gearing up for a long-term battle. A group of 85 reservists sent an open letter to Olmert in which they expressed objections to what they said were attempts to link politics to the army. In the letter, a copy of which was also sent to the defense minister and the chief of staff, they wrote: "We, officers and combat soldiers in the reserves, of all ranks and from all corps, want to express to you our objection to combining politics and the army."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak is also likely to come under pressure from protesters. The sidewalk opposite his Tel Aviv home might see numerous protest vigils held by groups of bereaved parents, as well as IDF reservists who plan to convene there after the report is released.

Protesters will call on Barak, who chairs the Labor Party, to resign from the government following the report, as he had pledged to do. This move by Barak would essentially topple Olmert's government.

Activists from the opposition parties are also planning to protest. The protesters, concerned by the report as well as by Olmert's intentions of negotiating over the core issues with the Palestinian Authority, plan to hold a protest vigil outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem. The weather in the capital could, however, hamper these plans.

Jonathan Lis adds: Members of the Winograd Committee have taken precautions to make sure that the expected stormy weather in Jerusalem will not delay the release of their final report. The committee's representatives contacted Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski's office Monday to request that in case of snow, the city will clear the roads leading to the Prime Minister's Office and the Jerusalem International Convention Center, where the committee intends to hold a news conference at 6 P.M. Wednesday.

For full coverage of the Winograd report, log on to Haaretz.com on Wednesday

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