Lebanese Government Resigns

Prime Minister Omar Karami announced his government's resignation Monday, prompting a cheer from more than 25,000 flag-waving opposition demonstrators protesting the government and its Syrian backers a few hundred yards away.

"I am keen that the government will not be a hurdle in front of those who want the good for this country. I declare the resignation of the government that I had the honor to head. May God preserve Lebanon," Karami said.

The resignation was the most dramatic moment yet in the series of protests and political maneuvers that have shaken Lebanon since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Many in Lebanon blame Syria for being behind Hariri's slaying and have pressed hard since his death for the resignation of the pro-Syrian Lebanese government — and for Syria to withdraw its roughly 15,000 troops positioned in Lebanon.

The resignation came ahead of a no-confidence vote which had been scheduled for Monday, and left an intense anti-Syrian sentiment on the streets of Beirut, reports CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk.

The move is "a clear message that Syrian military presence is not welcome," says Falk.

Arab TV stations, which had been reporting live from Beirut's parliament throughout the day, showed scenes of the thousands of cheering, Lebanese-flag waving protesters juxtaposed alongside Karami's vacant parliamentary seat after his Cabinet walked out of the chamber.

Karami made the announcement during a parliamentary debate called to discuss Hariri's Feb. 14 assassination. Earlier Monday, Karami had asked the legislature to renew its confidence in his Cabinet, which took power in October after Hariri's resignation in a dispute with Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon.

The Karami government and Syria have been accused by the opposition of having at least a hand in the bombing which killed Hariri and 16 others in Beirut two weeks ago.

Both governments have denied the accusations.

The announcement of the government's resignation came after a day of protests in Martyr's Square, a few blocks from parliament. The protesters danced to patriotic songs, waved hundreds of Lebanese flags, and handed out red roses to the hundreds of soldiers and police around them.

Led by banking and business associations, much of Lebanon also observed a one-day strike in memory of Hariri on Monday, allowing lawyers in black robes and doctors in white gowns to join the demonstration.

Protesters also prayed in front of candles at the flower-covered grave of Hariri, which lies at the edge of the square.

"You can tell from the looks in the soldiers' eyes, and from their smiles, their true stand," said Hamadeh, who was in the square before going to parliament. Hamadeh himself was the target of a bomb attack in October that killed his driver.