By Van Meguerditchian

BEIRUT: A week after the administration of the Bristol Hotel refused to host a gathering in solidarity with protesters in Syria, Lebanese activists were able to hold their meeting at another venue, where they called on regional and international organizations to protect Syrians.

In an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Beirut Tuesday, the activists said that the Arab League and the U.N. should assume their responsibilities in protecting the Syrian people from the regime’s ongoing violent crackdown on the popular protests.
In a statement released following the meeting, the activists also called “on the Lebanese government to embrace and protect all refugees from Syria.”

“We refuse [to allow] Lebanon to take part in crimes against humanity, such as the arrest of Syrian civilians and soldiers who have fled into Lebanon,” said the statement, in reference to last week’s arrests by the Lebanese Army.

The Lebanese Army said in a statement that it was forced to hand over three Syrian soldiers and the body of a fourth to Syrian authorities after local judicial authorities said that they were not considered refugees.
However, according to the statement released by the “Solidarity gathering with the freedom and dignity of the Syrian people,” such arrests contradict the U.N. Convention against Torture, of which Lebanon is a signatory.

While international pressure is mounting on the Syrian regime to stop using violence against protesters, there were several reports Tuesday that dozens of Syrians continued to flee into north Lebanon and there were unconfirmed reports that the heavy gunfire forced the Lebanese Army to pull back from the Syrian borders.
The activists also called on the Syrian regime to stop trying to entangle Lebanon in Syrian domestic affairs by blaming the protests on foreigners, and to end the ongoing killing of protesters.

“They [Syrian authorities] should stop their constant attempts to export their crisis into Lebanon and abroad, through false propaganda. It only proves that the Syrian regime has not learned anything from those who already perished,” said the statement, in reference to the Egyptian and Tunisian regimes.
Although there has been no official support for solidarity gatherings so far, several MPs from the March 14 coalition and journalists took part in the gathering Tuesday.

“Lawmakers and officials in the country have refused to support the popular demonstrations in Syria because they may have negative repercussions on Lebanon’s security,” Akkar MP Khaled Daher told The Daily Star.
When asked whether the crisis in Syria would spread to Lebanon following reports of instability in north of the country, Daher said that the presence of the Lebanese Army and the state are guarantees that the unrest would stop at the border.

According to the activists, the Syrian people would ultimately achieve freedom, despite the many obstacles and, after an animated discussion, they agreed that the birth of democracy in Syria is in the interest of Lebanon.
“You [Syrian people] are not alone in this world … we stand by you and support you,” the statement said.