Million People Show Up for Hariri Memorial in Beirut
More than one million people showed up in downtown Beirut on Thursday to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on the third anniversary of his assassination as just a few kilometers away Hizbullah prepared to bury top commander Imad Mughniyeh who was killed by a car bomb in Syria.
Amid fears of clashes between rival pro- and anti-Syrian factions, army troops and security forces were deployed in force in the capital. The factions have faced off repeatedly in recent weeks.
A sea of people gathered under pouring rain and poor visibility in Martyrs” Square in central Beirut, where Hariri is buried, waving Lebanese flags and photos of the slain leader as well as other politicians and figures killed in the past three years.
Rally organizers said about one million pro-government supporters gathered in and around Martyrs Square, while another 500,000 crowded the streets.
As the rally got underway, members of Hariri”s family and the ruling coalition inaugurated St. George Square on the Beirut seafront where Hariri was killed by a massive car bomb on Feb. 14, 2005.
They also unveiled a bronze statue, a sculpture in the form of a flame and an obelisk bearing inscriptions about his accomplishments and sayings.
Politicians meanwhile gave fiery speeches demanding an end to the country”s presidential deadlock and accusing Syria of meddling in Lebanese politics.
Saad Hariri saluted the crowd before delivering his speech as the flag-waving crowd shouted allegiance.
“Today you have come again to say we want a president. And we say to you we will have a president,” Hariri told the crowd from behind bullet-proof glass.
“The enemies of Lebanon are still trying to assassinate the Lebanese people just as the Israeli enemy tried to assassinate the Lebanese people during the 2006 July war,” he added.
Hizbullah claimed victory after that 34-day war in which neither of Israel”s stated aims — to recover two captured soldiers and halt rocket attacks on northern Israel — was achieved.
“We want a President for the republic. They tried to assassinate Beirut, the international tribunal and the
presidency by installing void,” Hariri said.
“Together we will continue to insist that Gen. Suleiman is elected President in order to open a new phase of dialogue and consensus and cooperate for Lebanon”s sake” Hairri said. “This is the goal of the citizens gathered here in Martyrs Square as well as in the southern suburbs for the funeral service of resistance commander (Imad Mughniyeh).”
MP Walid Jumblat vowed that the blood of the pro-government March 14 Forces and that of the revolutionaries “will nail down all unbelievers anywhere they were – be they in their palaces, squares or caves.”
Ex-President Gemayel also pledged to “liberate downtown Beirut and return the Lebanese capital to its people.”
A huge crowd cheered Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea as he began his speech.
“We used to say the tribunal is coming. We now say the court came,” Geagea said in reference to the Special International Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in Hariri”s murder.
“No to your tents and threats. We won”t allow the presidential seat to be your captive. You people tell them that we will resist them until our last victory,” he added.
Sheikh Ali al-Amin, the Shiite Mufti of the southern city of Tyre said: “I say to those encouraging an escalation that Lebanon will not be transformed into another Iraq.”
MP Atef Majdalani, in turn, said: “We will remain committed to electing Gen. Michel Suleiman president,”
stressing that March 14 “wants justice and equality, while they (opposition) want anarchy to achieve unrest and
civil war.”
Secretary General of al-Jamaa al-Islamia Ali Sheikh Ammar vowed to “live on despite the bloodshed.”
“Hariri”s murder anniversary should be an opportunity to restore a climate for constructive dialogue and national unity,” he told the crowd.
MP Elias Atallah, addressing Gen. Michel Aoun, said: ” We tell Rabiyeh resident “Forget about the Document of Understanding (which was singed) on the expense of the country.
To Hizbullah, Atallah said: “There is no use for the rockets or intimidation.”
National Liberation Party Secretary General Elias Abu Assi also addressed the opposition, telling them: “Come back to us when you regain your senses. We in March 14 will not rest unless justice is achieved and independence is guaranteed.”
Cabinet Minister Mohammed Safadi reminded the opposition that the March 14 coalition has made concessions.
“Do they want us to give up our backing to consensus candidate Gen. Suleiman?” asked Safadi. “We want a government whose war or peace decision is in its hands.”
Nassib Lahoud, a former ambassador to the U.S. and a member of the ruling majority, said his side would not budge from its demands for the election of a president without outside interference, followed by the formation of a national unity government.
Cabinet Minister Jean Oghassabian vowed that March 14 will elect Suleiman President, adding that “we will not accept institutional void.”
In an indirect address to Hizbullah, Cabinet Minister Michel Pharaon said: “We won”t be terrorized. Gen. Suleiman will be elected president and Lebanon will emerge victorious.”
MP Bassem al-Sabaa described the opposition tent city in downtown Beirut as an “occupation,” saying it “is a crime against Lebanon.”
Minister Nayla Mouawad lashed out at Syria, saying: “We were born free and we will die free. We won”t allow Lebanon”s destiny to be linked to the Syrian regime.”
At the exact time of the explosion that killed Hariri, church bells tolled and mosque minarets blared Allah Akbar chants.
Lebanon has been without a president since last November when pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term. A subsequent power struggle between the ruling majority anti-Syrian faction and the opposition has left a continuing vacuum.
By early afternoon cars and buses were continuing to flood to Beirut where the Hariri organizers handed out flags and umbrellas to the demonstrators.
“Open our parliament, free our government, elect a president now,” read one banner, referring to the power struggle between the pro- and anti-Syrian factions that has left Lebanon without a head of state since
November.
“Enough martyrs. Enough Blood,” read another banner. “Yes for Tribunal,” another sign said.
Lebanon has been mired in a deep political crisis since Hariri”s murder, which sparked international outrage and forced the pullout of Syrian troops after a 29-year-presence.
The government declared Thursday a holiday to commemorate Hariri”s death and schools and universities were ordered shut.
Picture: March 14 supporters gather in and around Martyrs Square for the third commemoration of the assassination of PM Rafik Hariri. (Marwan Naamani – AFP Photo)
March 14 supporters gather in and around Martyrs Square for the third commemoration of the assassination of PM Rafik Hariri. (Marwan Naamani – AFP Photo)