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Hundreds take part in pro-Hariri rally

08 February 2011

BEIRUT: Hundreds of March 14 coalition supporters gathered Monday in Downtown Beirut’s Martyrs Square, in yet another show of support for caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

“People are here every day to say no to Hezbollah’s weapons and yes to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,” said Moussa Abdel-Salam, from the Youth Branch of Hariri’s Future Movement. “People come to Martyrs Square from all across Lebanon, the Bekaa, the south, the north, all the people are here Muslims and Christians.”

The March 14 coalition has repeatedly called on Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati not to end Lebanon’s cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, as is demanded by Hezbollah and its allies.

The STL is probing the 2005 assassination of caretaker prime minister’s father, former statesman Rafik Hariri. The March 14 coalition is preparing to mark the sixth anniversary of his assassination on Feb.14 with a large demonstration in Downtown Beirut.

“We are here to say no to those who don’t want to know who killed Rafik Hariri,” said Abdel-Salam.

March 14 supporters from the Bekaa Valley and the northern coastal village of Batroun flocked to Downtown Beirut Monday to pay tribute to the slain former Prime Minister.

Adel Shahin, a 36-year-old lawyer from Batroun said he came in support of “freedom and sovereignty.” “We are here to ensure the continuity of the Cedar Revolution,” he said, in reference to street protests that erupted in the aftermath of the Hariri murder and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops in Lebanon after a 29 year presence. “We are here so we don’t go back to the Syrian days, we are here for justice,” added the Lebanese Forces (LF) supporter.

March 14 supporters have gathering at Martyrs Square on a near-daily basis since Saad Hariri lost the race for the premiership on Jan. 25. Monday’s rally was the biggest since the first day of demonstrations.

“If Hariri asks us to come every day, we will come every day. We will sleep here, we’ll bring our children,” said Abu Abed, 51, a jeweler from Tripoli who has been traveling to Beirut every day since the start of the sit-in.

Several March 14 officials spoke in front of the crowd, Monday, as protesters waved Lebanese flags, Future movement blue scarves and chanted slogans in support of the caretaker prime minister.

“We are here because we love Saad Hariri and the martyr [Rafik Hariri] and to say we are with democracy,” said Yousra Harati, a 21 year-old student.

Harati condemned the street protests of Jan. 25, when demonstrations in support of Hariri across Lebanon turned violent, as March 14 supporters clashed with the Lebanese Army and attacked journalists.

“All groups should be represented in the government,” Harati said, adding that she hoped the March 14 coalition would take part in the new Mikati Cabinet. “We should all be holding each other’s hand … we should talk to each other.”

Fadi Saad, a LF official in Batroun explained that the daily sit-ins were aimed at building pressure against what he described as the “hidden coup” led by Hezbollah and its allies to topple Saad Hariri’s government. He added that “Hezbollah’s coup” would be fiercely opposed by March 14 factions.

Saad added that the Downtown Beirut gatherings were only a “small” sample of the kind of opposition the Hezbollah-led March 8 group would have to face from now on.

The LF official said he believed the March 14 coalition should not participate in the Mikati-led government until they received clear-cut answers from the prime-minister designate on issues such as the STL and non-state weapons.

“This is the moment for President [Michel Sleiman] and Mikati to oppose a one-sided government,” Saad said. “Otherwise, I think Lebanon is going to change and become a second Gaza Strip.”

© Copyright The Daily Star 2011.