page_title: 2006–2008 Lebanese protests
hierarchical_section_title: 2006–2008 Lebanese protests
caption_attribution_description: Dec 10 2006 anti-government/pro-Syrian rally in Beirut, Lebanon.
context_page_description: The 2006–2008 Lebanese protests were a series of political protests and sit-ins in Lebanon that began on 1 December 2006, led by groups that opposed the US and Saudi-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and ended on 21 May 2008 with the signing of the Doha Agreement. The opposition was made up of Hezbollah, Amal, and the Free Patriotic Movement; a number of smaller parties were also involved, including the Marada party, the Lebanese Communist Party and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. A majority of the members of the government were part of the anti-Syrian March 14 Alliance, a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon. The two groups were also divided along religious lines, with most Sunnis and Druze supporting the government, and most Shi'a supporting the opposition. The Christian community was split between the two factions, with Michel Aoun, the leader of the FPM, claiming to have more than 70% support among the Christians, based on the results of the 2005 parliamentary election.
context_section_description: The 2006–2008 Lebanese protests were a series of political protests and sit-ins in Lebanon that began on 1 December 2006, led by groups that opposed the US and Saudi-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and ended on 21 May 2008 with the signing of the Doha Agreement. The opposition was made up of Hezbollah, Amal, and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM); a number of smaller parties were also involved, including the Marada party, the Lebanese Communist Party and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. A majority of the members of the government were part of the anti-Syrian March 14 Alliance, a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon. The two groups were also divided along religious lines, with most Sunnis and Druze supporting the government, and most Shi'a supporting the opposition. The Christian community was split between the two factions, with Michel Aoun, the leader of the FPM, claiming to have more than 70% support among the Christians, based on the results of the 2005 parliamentary election.
  The opposition, which had nearly 45% of the parliamentary seats, was seeking to create a national unity government, in which it demanded one more than one third of the Cabinet seats. This would give them veto power, as well as the ability to collapse the government. The government refused the demands. The opposition was also seeking to hold early parliamentary elections, hoping to remove the current majority held by the March 14 Alliance. Conversely, the March 14 Alliance majority was seeking to hold early presidential elections to replace pro-Syrian President Émile Lahoud. In the Lebanese political system, parliament elects the president. However, according to article 49 of the constitution, the President of Lebanon must receive two-thirds of the votes in the first session or an absolute majority of votes in subsequent sessions.
  On 8 April 2007, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the opposition, declared the situation deadlocked, but expressed an unwillingness to escalate the protests into a civil war. He suggested the status quo would continue until the regularly scheduled elections in 2009.
  Nevertheless, a new wave of sectarian violence started in Lebanon in May 2008. Responding to the government's crackdown on Hezbollah's secured network the militants belonging to the organization and its allies blocked Beirut airport as well as main city streets, paralyzing life in the capital. On 8 May 2008, gun battles erupted between Hezbollah supporters and pro-government loyalists, while the leader of the organization called the government's decision "a declaration of war".
  Following one week of clashes in May 2008, leaders of both the opposition and majority signed the Doha Agreement on 21 May, defusing the 18-month crisis. The agreement called for the election of General Michel Sulaiman as president and the formation of a national unity government under Fouad Siniora.
caption: Dec 10, 2006 anti-government rally in Beirut
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