March 11, 2005

BEIRUT, Lebanon — As a U.N. envoy arrives in Syria to press for the pullout of Syrian troops from Lebanon, leaders of Lebanon's opposition are planning a major demonstration in an effort to recapture momentum lost since protests forced the collapse of the government.

U.N. special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen is to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad Saturday . to discuss the pullout of Syrian troops from Lebanon, where they have been stationed for nearly 30 years. Roed-Larsen told reporters Friday during a stop in Jordan that he expects Syria to lay out a timetable for a complete withdrawal.

Meanwhile, Lebanese opposition leaders said they hope a rally Monday in Beirut's Martyrs Square will serve as a potent counterpoint to this week's massive pro-Syrian rally led by the Shiite Hezbollah party. Hezbollah's show of strength emboldened Syria's political allies here to rename Prime Minister Omar Karami, a strong Syria supporter, to the post he quit under pressure on Feb. 28.

Monday's demonstration would mark the one-month anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose Feb. 14 killing sent tens of thousands of residents into the streets in anger. Organizers said they hope for a turnout bigger than that of Tuesday's Hezbollah rally, which drew an estimated 500,000 people to downtown Beirut.

"There will be a very big answer to the demonstration of Hezbollah," said Fares Souaid, a leading opposition lawmaker. "The popular momentum will be built on."

The opposition, led mainly by Maronite Christians, Druze and Sunni Muslims, faces tricky questions over its future, including whether to hold fast in refusing to join in a unity government before its demands for a full Syrian withdrawal and other conditions have been met."They really have to make up their minds on their final stance, whether they want to continue their demonstrations endlessly until their demands are met, or connect their list of demands to the (political) process itself," said Nizar Hamzeh, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut. "It's really a dilemma."

Hamzeh said the gains from relying on continued street protests are minimal and could increase the odds for violent confrontations.

Karami's reappointment -- two days after the Hezbollah rally -- signaled that Syria's hold on the Lebanese government was unlikely to loosen. Karami said, though, that he would seek to defuse the deepening crisis by inviting opponents to join a new government.

Opposition leaders quickly denounced the prime minister's reappointment, saying it was a slap against the Lebanese public.

Spokesmen for the opposition said they would not consider joining a broad-based Cabinet under Karami unless the government allows an international investigation into the Hariri assassination and fires top security and intelligence commanders they hold responsible for the slaying. Syria and the Lebanese government deny any involvement in the assassination.

The opposition also demands an immediate and full withdrawal of Syrian troops, which have been on Lebanese soil since 1976.

Karami has called for dialogue, suggesting the opposition was welcome to pursue its demands once inside the government.

"It's an attempt to put the ball in the opposition's court," said Bassem Sabaa, an opposition lawmaker from Hariri's bloc. "The authorities have already rejected our conditions and yet they say they want dialogue."

Karami plans to begin talks with political figures, including the opposition, early next week in hopes, he said, of forming a government that is more diverse than the previous one, which was solidly pro-Syrian.

The opposition delegation plans to use the occasion to present its list of demands to Karami -- just as it sought to do during a meeting Wednesday with President Emile Lahoud over naming a prime minister. Lahoud refused to take the list. Souaid said he expected Karami to promise strenuous efforts to solve the Hariri killing, but not to give in to demands.

Opposition leaders say they fear that joining the Karami government would lend it legitimacy while granting them no real power over decisions. Rather, they hope for gains in parliamentary elections planned this spring, but say Syria must leave to ensure the balloting is fair.

But the opposition's hard-nosed approach has drawn criticism from some who say it is contributing to the political deadlock.

"The opposition's weapon of choice -- its stance of self-righteousness -- has reached a point of obstinance, whereby they are proving themselves unwilling to communicate and hold a dialogue with the other parties," the English-language Daily Star newspaper said in an editorial Friday.

Karami said Thursday that if he could not enlist the opposition to take part in a new government, he would step down. He also said delays in forming a government could lead to a postponement of the May election.

The political jockeying came as Syria continued redeploying soldiers from northern Lebanon. News reports said Syria had removed all its soldiers from the north, leaving behind some intelligence officers.

Earlier this week, Syria began moving troops east into the Bekaa Valley, closer to its border. Some of those were reported to have crossed back into Syria.

Assad, under broad international pressure, agreed to a phased pullout but has not said when all 14,000 Syrian troops will leave Lebanon.

A United Nations Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States and France last fall calls for a full Syrian withdrawal.

U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Friday that Roed-Larsen's trip would not include an ultimatum or threats. Security Council diplomats confirmed that there has been no discussion at the United Nations of sanctions or economic isolation for Syria if it does not comply with the U.N.'s resolution. In Washington State Department spokesman Richard Boucher also declined to characterize the U.N. mission as an ultimatum.

Security of State Condoleezza Rice, meanwhile, continued the administration's demands that Syria adhere to the resolution.

Times staff writers Maggie Farley in New York and Tyler Marshall in Washington and special correspondent Rania Abouzeid in Beirut contributed to this report.