An astounding story from WND (thanks to Teri) about this rally:
JERUSALEM — The giant Hezbollah rally that drew nearly half a million purported supporters of Syria’s occupation of Lebanon actually was a staged hoax with non-Lebanese citizens, Syrian workers, students and municipal employees coerced into joining the protest, former Lebanese Prime Minister Michel Aoun told WorldNetDaily in an exclusive interview this morning.
“Yesterday’s huge protest calling for Syria to stay made it look to the world like a large segment of the Lebanese population actually wants to live under Syrian occupation,” said Aoun, speaking to WND from Paris. “But the protest wasn’t what it appeared to be. It was an elaborately staged affair.”
Hundreds of thousands packed into a central Beirut meeting square yesterday, chanting support for Syrian troops to maintain positions in Lebanon and denouncing America in what has been called a massive show of strength by Syrian and Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
Protestors held signs, in English, reading “Thank you Syria” and “No to foreign interference,” a reference to American intervention. The crowd sang the national anthem and many waved red-and-white Lebanese flags, some holding posters with pictures of pro-Damascus Lebanese and Syrian presidents.