| The Daily Star |
 |
BEIRUT: The anti-sectarian regime movement is not dead, say its organizers, insisting that toppling a system that has been anchored in society since independence is a long-term process.
“We haven’t forgotten about you at all since the last march,” said Samah Idriss, one of the organizers of the movement, during a news conference to publicize the first large-scale demonstration to be held in more than two months.
The march is scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. and will weave its way from the National Social Security Fund building in Cola to Parliament in Downtown Beirut.
Thousands of people participated in the four previous marches in Beirut and other demonstrations were also organized across the country, but a two-month absence on the public scene raises the question of whether the general public has forgotten about the campaign.
“They will remember us,” said Arabi Endari, one the organizers, arguing the movement never expected the regime would collapse in the space of a few months. “We always knew it would be a long term struggle.”
“Our regime won’t come down easily … It’s a whole system that has infiltrated education, the media and all institutions and parties,” he continued.
To him, the successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt first pushed the people to the streets and gave them hope that things could actually change.
“This time is over,” he said, adding that after the first weeks of enthusiasm, it was now time for “serious questions” to be tackled on how to continue the struggle.
One priority, he said, should be to inform the public about the true face of sectarianism, as, he said, many “didn’t realize what the system was doing.”
To him, organizing large-scale demonstrations of supporters is important but the movement should also focus on convincing others.
“We do need the public support. But not everybody wants [to topple the sectarian regime],” he admitted.
“That’s why we need to work on raising awareness … as people aren’t aware of the [sectarian system’s] detriments.”
Endari said that although the media gave it minimal coverage in the past two months, the movement has actually been very active, holding discussions on the issue in villages, towns and universities, and has also organized public conferences tackling the effects of sectarianism on different sectors of society.
“After the demonstration, we will keep on talking to people directly, in villages and different institutions. It’s not only about demonstrations of people who are already against the regime; we need to encourage others to join.”
Endari said the movement also made use of these two months to focus on organizing the campaign.
“We started as a big group of youngsters united on one idea: the need to break down our sectarian system,” he said. “Yet, most of these people didn’t even know each other, came from different backgrounds, and had different opinions on how to do it.”
Endari explained that activists then decided to organize themselves in different committees and form a global alliance so each group could maintain their particularities.
Some activists argue the priority should be to raise awareness while others believe the movement should organize demonstrations on a regular basis.
He said some believe in “dismantling the system step by step,” by focusing on specific demands such as reforming the personal status law and introducing parliamentary elections based on proportional representation, while others preferred the option of continuing demonstrating “until Parliament is paralyzed.”
Asked if these disagreements caused people to leave the campaign, he acknowledged some might have left the movement but said it shouldn’t be seen as a problem.
“There is a feeling of disappointment but that is normal. This movement started spontaneously with different characters and personalities, [so] it’s normal some people hold on and others don’t,” he said.
“These are different ways of thinking and also different strategies, but the common message is that we’re against the regime and want to bring it down.”
“We haven’t forgotten about you at all since the last march,” said Samah Idriss, one of the organizers of the movement, during a news conference to publicize the first large-scale demonstration to be held in more than two months.
The march is scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. and will weave its way from the National Social Security Fund building in Cola to Parliament in Downtown Beirut.
Thousands of people participated in the four previous marches in Beirut and other demonstrations were also organized across the country, but a two-month absence on the public scene raises the question of whether the general public has forgotten about the campaign.
“They will remember us,” said Arabi Endari, one the organizers, arguing the movement never expected the regime would collapse in the space of a few months. “We always knew it would be a long term struggle.”
“Our regime won’t come down easily … It’s a whole system that has infiltrated education, the media and all institutions and parties,” he continued.
To him, the successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt first pushed the people to the streets and gave them hope that things could actually change.
“This time is over,” he said, adding that after the first weeks of enthusiasm, it was now time for “serious questions” to be tackled on how to continue the struggle.
One priority, he said, should be to inform the public about the true face of sectarianism, as, he said, many “didn’t realize what the system was doing.”
To him, organizing large-scale demonstrations of supporters is important but the movement should also focus on convincing others.
“We do need the public support. But not everybody wants [to topple the sectarian regime],” he admitted.
“That’s why we need to work on raising awareness … as people aren’t aware of the [sectarian system’s] detriments.”
Endari said that although the media gave it minimal coverage in the past two months, the movement has actually been very active, holding discussions on the issue in villages, towns and universities, and has also organized public conferences tackling the effects of sectarianism on different sectors of society.
“After the demonstration, we will keep on talking to people directly, in villages and different institutions. It’s not only about demonstrations of people who are already against the regime; we need to encourage others to join.”
Endari said the movement also made use of these two months to focus on organizing the campaign.
“We started as a big group of youngsters united on one idea: the need to break down our sectarian system,” he said. “Yet, most of these people didn’t even know each other, came from different backgrounds, and had different opinions on how to do it.”
Endari explained that activists then decided to organize themselves in different committees and form a global alliance so each group could maintain their particularities.
Some activists argue the priority should be to raise awareness while others believe the movement should organize demonstrations on a regular basis.
He said some believe in “dismantling the system step by step,” by focusing on specific demands such as reforming the personal status law and introducing parliamentary elections based on proportional representation, while others preferred the option of continuing demonstrating “until Parliament is paralyzed.”
Asked if these disagreements caused people to leave the campaign, he acknowledged some might have left the movement but said it shouldn’t be seen as a problem.
“There is a feeling of disappointment but that is normal. This movement started spontaneously with different characters and personalities, [so] it’s normal some people hold on and others don’t,” he said.
“These are different ways of thinking and also different strategies, but the common message is that we’re against the regime and want to bring it down.”
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