— At least 400 American Lebanese Christians and their supporters demonstrated in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza outside the United Nations today to demand the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, while inside the Security Council chamber 10-12 other Lebanese Christians staged a one-hour sit-in. Several of them reportedly were from the Christian village of Zahle in Lebanon which has been under siege by the Syrians.
The latter group, which entered the UN building as visitors, protested against the military action by Syrian forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization against the Christian population of Lebanon. They refused to leave the Security Council chamber until a UN official met with them to receive their protest. They were met by Virenda Dayal, director of the Office of Undersecretaries General for special political affairs. After the meeting, the group was escorted from the building by security guards.
Observers at the UN today noted the contrast between these events and a similar demonstration a few months ago by two Palestinian mayors, Fahd Kawasme of Hebron and Mohammed Milhim of Halhoul, who staged a sit-in at the Security Council to protest their deportation from the West Bank by Israeli authorities. At that time, UN security guards invited the media to interview the mayors, ensuring maximum exposure for their cause. But today the press was barred from talking to the Christian Lebanese while they staged their sit-in.
‘HELP STOP THE MASSACRE’
The demonstration outside was sponsored by the “American Lebanese Committee to Save Lebanon.” They circulated a statement saying: “Help stop the massacre, help save Lebanon. Once again the savage slaughtering of Lebanese Christians is taking place while the entire world idly watches. Syrians, Palestinians and Communists are murdering innocent civilians in east Beirut and Zahle.”
The demonstrators also passed out leaflets accusing the Syrians and Palestinians of attempting to anihilate Christians in Lebanon. They demanded that Syrian forces leave Lebanon and urged Americans to appeal to President Reagan to help end the “holocaust.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
