The Daily Star
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BEIRUT: More than 500 demonstrators marched from the Social Security building near the Cola intersection to Parliament Sunday, demanding an end to Lebanon’s “sectarian regime.”
While the turnout was not as large as some previous anti-sectarian protests, with the biggest drawing over 20,000 in March, leaders of the rally said they were pleased with the crowd, which is finally picking up again after several months of a lull in which activists say they had to reorganize themselves in order to keep their message on track.
“We’d had problems recently with members of the sectarian system, March 8 and March 14, wanting to take part in our movement,” said Maher Abou Shakra, one of the rally organizers. “That didn’t make sense. We wanted to be clear in our objectives.”
That objective is to abolish Lebanon’s sectarian system, which has been in place since the founding of the modern state in 1943. Activists say that Lebanon’s confessional government prevents the country from achieving a true democracy by having political parties based on sect, appointing politicians to posts based on their religious affiliation rather than their merit, and by forcing citizens to comply with laws based on their religious backgrounds.
Today, there are at least five anti-sectarian groups on Facebook, with a combined total of at least 33,000 members. Though there are slight differences between the groups, most agree on the basic principles of a secular system.
With the recent pause in activity, some organizers say the campaign has lost its momentum, causing a drop in participation. With the new government, announced two weeks ago after a five-month delay, organizers are now hoping to revive the public’s interest in the anti-sectarian issue.
“We’re not just protesting this government, but all governments since the beginning of the state,” said Ali Noureddine, another anti-sectarianism activist.
“When you have a system where the president is Maronite and the prime minister is Sunni, [and the speaker is Shiite] that’s unfair. We have 18 religious sects in Lebanon, and they all discriminate against each other.”
Although the exclusion of Lebanon’s two political coalitions might limit the size of the campaign, Abu Shakra says that in the end it will be worth it.
“It’s a small step in a big journey,” he said on the phone from the demonstration. “It’s difficult to create awareness. Sometimes we’re a hundred, sometimes we’re a thousand. Today, we didn’t expect a big crowd because of our recent difficulties.”
He added, “When we become hundreds of thousands, it will reveal Lebanon’s political contradictions.”
While the turnout was not as large as some previous anti-sectarian protests, with the biggest drawing over 20,000 in March, leaders of the rally said they were pleased with the crowd, which is finally picking up again after several months of a lull in which activists say they had to reorganize themselves in order to keep their message on track.
“We’d had problems recently with members of the sectarian system, March 8 and March 14, wanting to take part in our movement,” said Maher Abou Shakra, one of the rally organizers. “That didn’t make sense. We wanted to be clear in our objectives.”
That objective is to abolish Lebanon’s sectarian system, which has been in place since the founding of the modern state in 1943. Activists say that Lebanon’s confessional government prevents the country from achieving a true democracy by having political parties based on sect, appointing politicians to posts based on their religious affiliation rather than their merit, and by forcing citizens to comply with laws based on their religious backgrounds.
Today, there are at least five anti-sectarian groups on Facebook, with a combined total of at least 33,000 members. Though there are slight differences between the groups, most agree on the basic principles of a secular system.
With the recent pause in activity, some organizers say the campaign has lost its momentum, causing a drop in participation. With the new government, announced two weeks ago after a five-month delay, organizers are now hoping to revive the public’s interest in the anti-sectarian issue.
“We’re not just protesting this government, but all governments since the beginning of the state,” said Ali Noureddine, another anti-sectarianism activist.
“When you have a system where the president is Maronite and the prime minister is Sunni, [and the speaker is Shiite] that’s unfair. We have 18 religious sects in Lebanon, and they all discriminate against each other.”
Although the exclusion of Lebanon’s two political coalitions might limit the size of the campaign, Abu Shakra says that in the end it will be worth it.
“It’s a small step in a big journey,” he said on the phone from the demonstration. “It’s difficult to create awareness. Sometimes we’re a hundred, sometimes we’re a thousand. Today, we didn’t expect a big crowd because of our recent difficulties.”
He added, “When we become hundreds of thousands, it will reveal Lebanon’s political contradictions.”
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