The Daily Star - Anti-sectarian protests on hold pending revamp - April 18, 2011

By Simona Sikimic

The Daily Star BEIRUT: Anti-sectarian protests that have been sweeping the country over the last two months failed to materialize Sunday as organizers pledged to re-evaluate methods and work on building grassroots support before taking to the streets again.The fifth Beirut march was initially cancelled due to considerations over Palm Sunday, which it was feared would curb Christian participation, but the decision was extended to an indefinite halt with the date of the next protest left undecided, The Daily Star learned. “The initial reason [for cancelling the march] was logistical, but we then realized we wanted to broaden our approach,” said Hussein Abdallah a member of the anti-sectarian movement organizing committee. “We want to go to the universities and speak to the students about our aims. We want to spread the word and are thinking about printing pamphlets to clearly outline our ideas and demands.” The move comes in response to a growing rift in the movement which attracted support from a wide array of anti-secular activists with differing end goals concerning the shape of the governing system and the economic management of a future state. The participation of various groups – from leftists to those advocating the abolition of personal status law – has been key in widening support, but has also been labeled an Achilles Heel and blamed for the movement’s inability to formulate a cohesive agenda. “We want to consolidate the support and we want to think of a program over the coming weeks and months and even want to start planning for the 2012 elections,” said Abdallah, who is also a member of the newly formed anti-sectarian group Go Away, which has attracted some 200 supporters and endorses a more secular vision than the one originally espoused by the movement. While Go Away’s organizers remain committed to the anti-sectarian movement and will continue “working and helping,” they believe holding parallel events, such as talks and concerts, must be given more priority. The protests’ delay has caused groups to take matters into their own hands, with a separate march organized by Mothers Against War, once a visible presence at previous anti-secular protests, taking place in Beirut Sunday. The protest drew some 50 women calling for the end of political turmoil which brings the country “to the brink of civil war again every few years.” “The anti-sectarian movement has to be deliberated more and it has to be approached in a more strategic way,” said Nour Hassan, a member of Mothers Against War. “It is not a very clear outline and this is a good point to stop for a while and think back on what [the anti-sectarian movement] has done and how we can go forward.” The Laique Pride parade, which is separately organized but attracts many of the same supporters, is now being touted as the next possible march date, scheduled for May 15. The anti-sectarian movement started in February and quickly gathered momentum, boosting attendance from a few hundred to thousands and even tens of thousands by some estimates. The appeal of the marches, calling to “topple the sectarian regime,” has been fuelled by widespread emulation of the wave of popular protests sweeping the Arab world, as well as disappointment over the slow pace of government formation, which is further aggravating concerns over economic stagnation, poverty and corruption. But the movement has been undermined by violence, which broke out between rival factions at a Sidon protest in early April, and a disappointing turnout at the fourth Beirut-based protest earlier this month. “We need to focus on how to address people,” said Abdallah. “We lost a lot of people at the last march and they are [either] starting to get bored or don’t believe anything is going to change.” The postponement will likely resonate well with skeptics that are seen as a natural base for the anti-sectarian drive but have withheld support, in part because of the campaign’s “vagueness.” “There has to be road map and there have to be priorities,” said Elie Awad, general manager of the Youth for Tolerance, a Lebanese NGO promoting youth volunteerism and inter-religious dialogue and coexistence. “If you attract followers when there is no hope of success and no plan, no clear end goal, it undermines the movement. To me that is a great risk when you have a good cause,” he said.