Lebanon?s Syrian-backed government faced growing pressure to resign yesterday after the mass funeral of assassinated former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri turned into an impromptu rally against Damascus. Lebanese newspapers said Wednesday?s scenes of grief and anger among the tens of thousands of mourners flooding the streets of Beirut amounted to a national referendum against Syria?s military and political tutelage over its tiny neighbour. ?Hariri?s funeral was huge vote for unity and sovereignty,? was the headline in Beirut?s leading newspaper An-Nahar.

For most of his dozen years in and out of the premiership, Hariri had toed Syria?s line until resentment over Syrian insistence on extending the term of his political rival, President Emile Lahoud, prompted him to quit in October. In a pointed snub, Hariri?s family told top government officials to stay clear of the funeral of the ebullient Sunni Muslim billionaire who embodied Lebanon?s ambitious reconstruction drive after the crippling 1975-90 civil war. Voices from across Lebanon?s communal spectrum, encouraged by the tough anti-Syrian stance of the United States and France, are now telling Damascus and its local allies it is time to go.

<B>Alistair LYON</B>