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A Lebanese boy walking in front of shops damaged during recent clashes in Beirut. (AP)
Last update - 22:18 21/05/2008
Lebanese relieved as standoff ends; Hezbollah supporters celebrate
By The Associated Press
Tags: Israel, Iran, Lebanon 

BEIRUT - The wire coils and Lebanese soldiers are staying put
for now. But Hezbollah-led opposition supporters - spurred by their triumph in a power struggle with the U.S.-backed government - hurried Wednesday to dismantle a protest tent camp set up more than a year ago in the heart of Beirut.

Two dozen young Hezbollah supporters unwrapped the militant group's yellow flag, depicting a fist clenching a Kalashnikov rifle, and danced the country's traditional foot-stomping Dabkeh dance. Some wore yellow Hezbollah caps while others waved banners of various opposition factions.
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This is a new day for Lebanon and as you can see, everybody's happy and
hopeful here, said Ahmed Hussein, 28, who was among the men dismantling the tents.

An agreement reached Wednesday in Doha, Qatar ended Lebanon's 18-month
political stalemate and capped the worst internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war. It gave the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies the key power they sought - a veto over any government decision.

The government side appeared to acknowledge it had largely caved in to the Shiite militant group's demands at the talks after Hezbollah demonstrated its military power on the streets. The clashes in Beirut, the central mountains and the north brought Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war and left at least 67 people dead.

After the deal was announced, the mood in Beirut was jubilant. Residents
greeted each other with Mabrouk - Arabic for congratulations - and a few
bursts of celebratory gunfire rang out in the capital.

Yet some saw it as only a short-term fix, not a long-term solution to
Lebanon's fractures.

This doesn't mean there won't be political problems in the future, but at
least there will be a break now, said Mohammed Ftouni, a 60-year-old taxi
driver. It's just a shame this didn't happen before all those people were
killed.

Opposition-allied Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who participated in the Doha talks, called the dismantling of the tent camp a gift from the opposition and hailed the agreement.

Soon after, pickup trucks began hauling mattresses and supplies from the
encampment, which has paralyzed the commercial heart of the Lebanese capital for almost 18 months. Young men heaved carpets, wooden planks, file stacks, electric fans and even a fire-extinguisher onto a truck.

Workers took down tents, drab and dirty from months of sun and rain. City
cleaners in green overalls ferried garbage away.

Clusters of white balloons were released from the city's main Martyrs Square in celebration, followed by an evening candlelit vigil. Pedestrians from across Beirut strolled in to watch.

Grocer Zein Labban, 35, said the Lebanese leaders had no choice but to agree in Doha because the country couldn't continue with the way things were. "We've turned a new page. Who does not want life to return to the heart of Beirut?"

At the presidential palace in the hilly suburb of Baabda, some 10 kilometers east of Beirut, workers mowed the lawn and cleaned the pavement in preparation for a new president to move in. Inside, they arranged curtains and placed Lebanese flags in reception halls.

Under the Doha deal, both sides agreed to vote in parliament to elect Gen. Michel Suleiman, the army chief. A session was scheduled for Sunday to give foreign dignitaries time to come to Lebanon for the celebrations.

Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down in
November, and rival factions have been unable to resolve their differences over a future government. The parliament failed to meet 19 times to vote on Suleiman, the consensus presidential candidate.

Under the agreement - a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press - the opposition would get 11 seats in the Cabinet, while 16 seats would go to the parliamentary majority and the remaining three would be distributed by the elected president. Previously, the opposition held six seats in the Cabinet.

The government had sought a concession in Doha that Hezbollah would not again use its weapons internally as in fighting earlier this month. But only a broad clause, saying the signatories pledged to refrain from taking weapons to resolve political disputes - apparently referring to all Lebanese armed groups.


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    In the VIP
    If you want Olmert, pay for 'first class' hotels and flights.
    Don't mention the war
    The first to mention Nazis or the Holocaust automatically loses.
      1.   Why does Haaretz hate Sniniora? 02:55  |  Mark Lincoln 21/05/08
      2.   Who savaged whom? 03:08  |  sandra chitayat 21/05/08
      3.   Now lets bring Hamas and Fatah together!! 03:21  |  MOE 21/05/08
      4.   us backed 03:41  |  wilm 21/05/08
      5.   as long as its muslims killing muslims,who cares? 03:47  |  itsfunny 21/05/08
      6.   Lincon everyone hates Signiora the cry baby 04:25  |  Simon 21/05/08
      7.   I could have told you the deal was done two days ago 04:37  |  Rowan 21/05/08
      8.   Iran terrorists tentacles were pointing lebanese out 04:37  |  Joseph . E 21/05/08
      9.   The deal won`t hold - just like Abbas and Hamas 04:38  |  Conroy 21/05/08
      10.   Iran Ballistic Missiles May Now Be Stationed In Lebanon 04:49  |  Joseph . E 21/05/08
      11.   AIN`T THAT JUST WONDERFUL? 04:52  |  Mohamed MALLECK 21/05/08
      12.   #1 Mark Lincoln 04:54  |  Sami 21/05/08
      13.   Hezbollah 04:57  |  Sami 21/05/08
      14.   congrats nasralla! god speed hesballa! 05:08  |  bashar 21/05/08
      15.   Bush must be an Appeaser 05:33  |  Navy Vet 21/05/08
      16.   Very Informative, Haaretz 05:55  |  Zadok 21/05/08
      17.   I sure hope #6 is satire 05:57  |  McQueen 21/05/08
      18.   Goodbye to Lebanon; hello little Iran 05:59  |  McQueen 21/05/08
      19.   #8 fool, why does someone with a third of the vote deserve a veto 06:01  |  McQueen 21/05/08
      20.   #4 Wilm 06:13  |  Sami 21/05/08
      21.   Lincoln - Look who`s talking 06:39  |  * BEN JABO 21/05/08
      22.   The romance won`t last too long 06:41  |  * BEN JABO 21/05/08
      23.   Lincoln so involved - Palestine & Lebanon 06:49  |  * BEN JABO 21/05/08
      24.   US backing - Mark Lincoln 07:18  |  Palestinian Brit 21/05/08
      25.   Did Hezbollah Win? 07:22  |  Reid 21/05/08
      26.   Where is Clickfool in all this? 07:37  |  Mike 21/05/08
      27.   Welcome to HEZBANON 07:40  |  Dan 21/05/08
      28.   Iran and Hizbullah tactic in Lebanon. 08:11  |  Jean Van Daem 21/05/08
      29.   Saniora from over the border 08:47  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 21/05/08
      30.   Mohamed Malleck you had them rolling in the aisles 08:51  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 21/05/08
      31.   If you need some donkey work done, call a donkey 09:09  |  Natallie Durson 21/05/08
      32.   one more step towards an islamic leb 10:40  |  rich 21/05/08
      33.   Vetos and vetos... 11:05  |  Esther 21/05/08
      34.   dialogue 11:09  |  peter 21/05/08
      35.   the real meaning of "appeasement" 11:13  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 21/05/08
      36.   Politics at a piont of a gun 11:35  |  allang 21/05/08
      37.   The liberation of Lebanon is complete 12:16  |  Chris Linthwaite 21/05/08
      38.   #36 Allang 12:29  |  Chris Linthwaite 21/05/08
      39.   Another GW Bush Failure on the books 12:45  |  Johan Odin 21/05/08
      40.   #32 Rich 13:19  |  Chris Linthwaite 21/05/08
      41.   Chris #38... legitimate developements 13:22  |  allang 21/05/08
      42.   Hezb Allah is the key of ME future .... 13:37  |  Imad 21/05/08
      43.   a question to the Lebanese on this TB - 13:57  |  ivo 21/05/08
      44.   hepefully now iranians will stop killing arabs 13:58  |  POP 21/05/08
      45.   #41 allang 14:05  |  Chris Linthwaite 21/05/08
      46.   Qatar helps Iran gain full control of Lebanon while.. 14:06  |  Avi 21/05/08
      47.   HaAretz style `peace` deal 14:11  |  Frank 21/05/08
      48.   The friends of Iran in Leb have won. Israel feels need for peace. 14:22  |  Aounist 21/05/08
      49.   The Casino that is Lebanon 14:50  |  Ramius 21/05/08
      50.   Congrats to the Lebanese. 15:11  |  Johnboy 21/05/08
      51.   Just like Nasrallah Said 15:37  |  Ahmed 21/05/08
      52.   inevitable veto power 15:44  |  Fritz T. 21/05/08
      53.   ivo in prague 16:00  |  northern neighbor 21/05/08
      54.   Ahmed #51: nobody minds you having heroes - 16:33  |  ivo 21/05/08
      55.   northern neighbour #53: 16:46  |  ivo 21/05/08
      56.   WHY DO IF IND THIS HARD TO DIGEST ? 17:26  |  victor hardman 21/05/08
      57.   Lincoln who attacked who? where are the 2 Israeli soldiers. 17:46  |  steve-NYC 21/05/08
      58.   The Airport Cam Stays, The Iranian Guns Stay, The Yellow Usurping 18:48  |  Lavi 21/05/08
      59.   Threats civil war sure bring real peace in Leb. 19:13  |  SNURDLY 21/05/08
      60.   Aounist - now all the Lebanese can return home !! 19:25  |  Didier LeFrac 21/05/08
      61.   ahmed, you`re dreaming... 19:36  |  karim 21/05/08
      62.   ivo # 55 20:30  |  northern neighbor 21/05/08
      63.   Didier LeFrac 20:37  |  northern neighbor 21/05/08
      64.   this is ok so long as iran is destroyed this summer. 21:02  |  frenz 21/05/08
      65.   To #60 Didier: Ville St-Laurent,Qc will not entirely move to Leba 21:21  |  Aounist 21/05/08
      66.   Linthwaithe - you`re a scary Saidist 21:29  |  Bassam al-Gurd 21/05/08
      67.   Northern neighbour 21:37  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 21/05/08
      68.   Gunfire celebration 22:48  |  Rightster 21/05/08
      69.   Demographics and Democracy 22:57  |  Mark Lincoln 21/05/08
      70.