History of Lebanon The Cedar Revolution of 2005 AD

The Cedar Revolution

Syria kept persecuting the Lebanese leaders who resisted its occupation of Lebanon.Exiled Premier General Michel Aoun is threatened to be arrested if he tries to return to Lebanon, while the leader of the Lebanese Forces ex-militia Samir Gaegae is imprisoned in Lebanon since 1994.

Joumblat's first aid Marwan Hamade escaped an assassination attempt by a car bomb in October 2004. Former premier Rafik Hariri was assassinated in Beirut on February 14, 2005 by a massive car bomb that killed sixteen other people.

The opposition met after Hariri's assassination later that night and publicly accused the pro-Syrian government and Damascus of being behind the assassination. They called for the Syrian troops to pullout of Lebanon, demanded an international protection for captured Lebanon, and called on the pro-Syrian illegal government to resign.

On February 18, 2005, the opposition launched the "Independence Peaceful Uprising" to liberate Lebanon, motivating the Lebanese mass to support its move. The Lebanese in occupied Lebanon and in Diaspora held mass rallies to support the freedom of their occupied motherland. The protests continued -- larger, louder and bolder -- until the pro-Syrian government in Lebanon resigned on February 28, 2005.

On March 5, 2005 the Syrian president bowed down to the national and international pressure, and announced that the Syrian army would pull out from Lebanon in two stages, without setting a timeline for the withdrawal, yet proclaiming the implementation of the UN resolution 1559. The Syrian troops started a partial withdrawal from Beirut and Northern Lebanon on March 8 th. The popular demonstrations continued and reached their peak on March 14, 2005 when the Lebanese people rallying against Syrian occupation held the largest demonstration in Lebanon 's history with over a million demonstrators.

By the end of March 2005, the Syrian government pulled most of their troops and dismantled all of its intelligence stations in Beirut and north Lebanon . While the Lebanese were celebrating the withdrawal of the Syrian army in the areas they evacuated, pro-Syrian militants made several appearances as several bomb explosions took place around the country. The Lebanese opposition, the United Nations and the international community held the Syrian regime and its proxy government responsible for any security problems against the people of Lebanon.

On February 26, 2005 , a United Nations fact-finding mission held Syria and its proxy regime in Lebanon responsible for the political events that led to Hariri's assassination. It also accused the pro-Syrian government in Lebanon of misleading the investigation and hiding evidence to cover up the crime. On April 7, 2005 , the United Nations Security Council ordered an international investigation into Hariri's assassination opposition through resolution 1595.

In response to the continuous United States-led pressure and in face of popular protests, the Syrian government pledged to pull out by April 30, 2005 .

The peaceful "Cedar Revolution" continued in Lebanon and around the world, seeking the independence of Lebanon, and calling for general elections free from Syrian interference. The Syrian army withdrew its troops from Lebanon end of April 2005 after 30 years of occupation.