BLOWBACK:

Mourners in Lebanon Say Syria Must Go: Tens of thousands jam Beirut's streets for the funeral of the former premier. Some say his slaying has galvanized foes of the occupation. (Megan K. Stack, February 17, 2005, LA Times)

As the pallbearers hoisted the coffins onto their shoulders, women began to wail and men covered their faces, their shoulders shaking. Former Economy Minister Marwan Hamadeh, an outspoken opponent of Syria who barely survived a car bombing in October, was propped unsteadily between a crutch and a nurse.

Talal Salman, a newspaper editor whose cheek bears a scar carved by a bullet in the civil war, crossed the room to join Hamadeh.

The two men wept as Hariri's coffin was carried away.

As the ambulance bearing the casket crawled toward the city center, the crowd shouted: "Syria out! Syria out!" and "We don't want sisterly relations! We just want Syria to leave!"

"Bashar, what do you want from us?" cried others, addressing Syrian President Bashar Assad. "Just leave us alone!"

The coffin was paraded through the shabby parts of town, where the apartment blocks are still marked with bullet holes from the years of fighting. Run-down pharmacies and clothing shops were shuttered in mourning, veiled women wept on balconies, and residents tossed water to cool the marchers below.

Instead of the political party banners that usually dot demonstrations in the streets of Beirut, the march was dominated by the Lebanese flag: a cypress tree against a red and white background.

Christians, Druze and Sunni and Shiite Muslims mingled seamlessly.

"This man was a man of moderation and unity," said Beirut's Maronite bishop, Boulos Matar. "Losing him, our unity is a little bit under pressure. It could be dangerous both politically and economically."

The sectarian divisions that plunged Lebanon into civil war have been replaced by a new point of contention: whether Syrian troops and intelligence agents should be forced to relinquish their grip on the country.

Hariri resigned in protest over Syrian involvement in Lebanese politics. He wanted to restore the civil liberties, economic prowess and progressive social atmosphere Lebanon enjoyed before the war, and he had begun to join forces with opposition groups demanding a Syrian withdrawal.

Many of the mourners said that with Hariri's death, the anti-Syria movement had found a new call to arms. They referred to themselves as members of a newly emboldened, cross-sectarian nationalist movement that is dedicated to fighting the occupation.

"We want Syria out of Lebanon," said three young women who sat gloomily on a curb as the crowds began to melt away.

"Syria says they're protecting us. Enough. Let's go after them," snorted one, a 24-year-old English teacher named Iman. "We used to be afraid, but now they're the ones who are afraid — the Lebanese government and Syria. They're not safe anymore."

Assem Zeineddine, a 64-year-old former officer in the security forces who had made his way to Beirut from his home in the Chouf mountains, agreed.

"The nationalists are those who love Lebanon," he said. "This death will unite us. I consider it the beginning."