HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS DRESSED AS HANGMEN IN FRONT OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING, 2001-02-08 (photo)

Human rights activists dressed as hangmen protest in front of the parliament building in Beirut February 8, 2001, against a decree by Preseident Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri to hang two men this year. The lives of the two men were temporarily spared after former prime minister Selim al-Hoss refused to sign the decree on the grounds that excecution was inhmane punishment. Lebanon has executed 48 men since independence in 1942. Opposition against executions, which are conducted publicly, has been growing, especially among the younger generation trying to distance itself from Lebanon's violent past. JS/