Huge crowd marks fifth anniversary of Rafik Hariri's death

By Malek Mohamed Misbah in Beirut
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-02-15

[Malek Mohamed Misbah] Prime Minister Saad Hariri waves to supporters in Martyrs Square.

The February 14 scene in Beirut's city centre was repeated, once again, on the fifth anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his colleagues.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of the March 14 coalition rallied in Beirut's Martyrs Square starting in the early hours on Sunday (February 14th). People from all four corners of Lebanon – the South, Mount Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, the North and Beirut itself – filled the streets leading into the capital until noon.

Lebanese and coalition flags, including those of the Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party, the National Liberal Party, the Democratic Left Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party, led by MP Walid Jumblatt, fluttered amidst the crowd.

On the fifth anniversary of the assassination of his father, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that Lebanon was going through a "new phase". He called for "national unity" and said that there would no retreat from the battle of sovereignty, freedom and independence.

He said, "With a spirit of national unity, we start this new phase. We extend our hand for co-operation in order to extend the authority of the state and law. In this spirit, we put Lebanon on the map of international reconciliations."

Hariri added that "Lebanon has interest in stability, and Arab solidarity falls under our strategic interests." He stressed, however, that his slogan will remain "Lebanon First".

"Five years ago, the people of Lebanon came out of the [genie-] bottle and will not accept a return there," he said. "The 'giant' people of Lebanon gathered in this square on March 14, 2005 to proclaim that our homeland will cease to be a field [for everyone else], and our democracy will no longer be violated. We create our own future with our hands, with our resolution and our freedom."

Former Lebanese President Amine Gemayel called on Syria to "take concrete steps, with a deadline, to bring to an end the issues that are still hanging between our countries and that lessen the sovereignty of the state." His son, former minister and deputy Pierre Gemayel, was assassinated in November 2006.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, called on Hizbollah without naming it to "make a bold national decision to agree to put its military capabilities under state control and to let the decision of peace and war be in the hands of the cabinet alone, and no one else."

Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said "We do not accept that anyone imposes their opinion on us by compulsion or by arms."

"What is needed is that sabotage does not take place [in the government] in the name of consensus on everything," he added.

The leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, MP Walid Jumblatt, was not among the speakers at the event, unlike previous years when he inflamed the masses with his incendiary and zealous speeches. He arrived at Rafik Hariri grave at around 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, accompanied by Saad al-Hariri, his son Taymour Jumblatt and Ministers Ghazi al-Aridi, Akram Shuhaib and Wael Abou Faour.

After laying a wreath of flowers on the grave, and reciting verses from the Koran with Hariri, he left while his son Taymour stayed on the platform with the ministers and deputies of the Democratic Gathering (led by Walid Jumblatt) and stayed until the end of the celebration.

Commenting on that, Minister Wael Abou Faour said to Al-Shorfa, "The Progressive Socialist Party has never abandoned the principles of the Cedar Revolution, but there is a positive phase and we need to be open to all political groups. Our participation was in loyalty to Rafik Hariri and the Cedar Revolution."

Abou Faour said that Jumblatt "has done his duty and left, and Taymour and the deputies and ministers of the [Democratic] Gathering stayed on. This was agreed upon by Jumblatt and Hariri."

"We are part of anything related to Rafik Hariri and the joint march," he added.

Former Minister Nassib Lahoud, the leader of the Democratic Renewal Movement, was also absent from the event after he declared his departure from the March 14 coalition, but other leaders from the group attended.

The assistant general coordinator of the Future Movement, Saleh Farrukh, voiced his satisfaction with the massive attendance in the Martyrs Square.

He told Al-Shorfa, "The masses exceeded our expectations and as we always say, the March 14 coalition is a popular movement and the people are way ahead of us."

"No doubt that the size of attendance surprised everyone," he added. "That is what the followers of martyr Prime Minister Rafik Hariri do every year. It is no secret that they came here to announce their commitment to co-existence and the sovereignty, freedom and independence of Lebanon."

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