12 March 2011

BEIRUT: Activists protesting against the country’s sectarian system started a 24-hour sit-in in Beirut’s district of Ain al-Mreisseh Friday, as some other 20 protesters are still gathered in front of the Interior Ministry and similar events are being organized in Sidon, Tyre and Tripoli.

“It’s to show that we are everywhere,” said 23-year-old student Maya Muhieddine, one of activists organizing the Ain al-Mreisseh sit-in.

The sit-in is part of a national campaign to “topple the sectarian system” that started two weeks ago when hundreds marched in Beirut.

Last Sunday, thousands of protesters marched against the sectarian system in the capital.

The sit-in started at 11 a.m. Friday and will end Saturday at the same time.

Protesters said they chose the Corniche because so many people pass by during the weekend.

“People need to see us, to see what we do, we want to show them that [a new system] would be best for the country,” Muhieddine said.

Activists rolled out banners on the floor reading “Liberty – No sectarianism – Civility,” “Yes to toppling the symbols of corruption and of the sectarian system,” and “We are the Lebanese people.”

“We need to stop being divided, we need to be united, we need to live together without being scared,” Muhieddine added.

Mike Feghali acknowledged change might not happen right away, especially in the pouring rain.

“The weather isn’t helping,” he admitted. “It might take time, maybe a year, maybe 10, but we have to do something,” said the 21-year-old student.

“Let the politicians know that there are men and women in Lebanon who have a voice and are ready to fight,” Feghali added.

In front of the Interior Ministry, around 20 protesters who have been holding a sit-in for the past week were chatting and drinking coffee under a blue tarpaulin, protecting them from the rain.

“We want to stay here until we get a secular Lebanon,” Remi Maalouf, a 22-year-old activist, said, adding that at least 10 people were sleeping there every night.

“People are scared of March 14, of March 8, they need people like us, secular and independent, ready to motivate them and show them there is hope,” she said.

But according to Maalouf, the protesters cannot expect anything from Lebanon’s politicians.

“Since the first day, they have been saying they are with us but they are hypocritical; they could have been supporting this cause for the past 20 years,” she added.

Mohammad Jammaleddine, who arrived from Baalbek four days ago to take part in the movement, said the caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud came to visit them a day previously, and even sat down for a coffee with the protesters.

“He asked if we needed anything; we told him about the problems we’ve been having with electricity and he promised us he will help us,” the 30-year-old receptionist said.

“He said that if he weren’t a minister, he would have joined us in the demonstrations,” Maalouf added.

Ali Choukeir, a 23-year-old student, said he had been sleeping in one of the tents every night for six days, and that he was planning to stay “until we succeed.”

The activists are planning similar sit-ins in other locations and a protest on March 20.


Committee demands political system based on civil laws


BEIRUT: The Lebanese Committee for Civil Rights called Friday for the substitution of political sectarianism governing the country’s regime with civil laws.

Ugarit Younan told a news conference at the Press Federation that personal status laws should be substituted with civil laws.

Younan added that civil society organizations were planning to submit draft legislation to Parliament on the issue.

“The law punishes people who incite sectarianism,” Younan said, pointing to the contradictions that underlie a system based on sectarianism.

She added that the abolition of political sectarianism begins with school and college education, the adoption of a unified history book and an educational program on religious culture rather than religious preaching. – The Daily Star

Copyright The Daily Star 2011.