BEIRUT: The Future Movement expressed solidarity with the Syrian people at a mass rally in Tripoli Sunday and reiterated the March 14 coalition’s call for the current government to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Former prime minister and current head of the party, Saad Hariri, disappointed many who had hoped he would arrive in person at the rally, with MP Fouad Siniora, giving his speech.
Siniora, the leader of the Future Movement parliamentary bloc, addressed thousands gathered in Tripoli’s Rasheed Karami’s international stadium.
“The Syrian people are the ones who make change in Syria and no one else. Heroes of the Syrian revolution are more aware of their country. They do not need anyone to teach them lessons or lead their way,” Siniora said as the crowd cheered, some waving the Syrian and Lebanese flags. One flag read: "Bashar Assad, Hasan Nasrallah: game over."
“They [Syrians] decide what system they will have and modernize. But we say to them, our hearts are with you. We, the sons of freedom in Lebanon, await,” he said.
Since the beginning of anti-government protests in Syria in mid-March, Future Movement and March 14 politicians have voiced their support for the uprising in neighboring country, condemning the violent crackdown on demonstrators by government forces.
Tripoli in particular has been the scene of weekly protests against President Bashar Assad and at times, demonstrators burnt pictures of Assad, and Hezbollah flags.
“We have moved from an era characterized by what rulers want to an era of what the people want. The people want to know the truth, try murderers and achieve justice for their martyrs,” Siniora said.
Siniora added that Lebanese, want to know the truth behind the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others, evoking a popular chant used by anti government protesters in the Arab region.
“Do what these noble people want, [they want] the international tribunal, to cooperate and fund it,” he said.
“Our commitment to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon [probing Hariri’s assassination] was never to seek revenge, but to protect Lebanon which has been violated through the consistent targeting and assassination of its leaders,” the MP said.
Siniora also warned that Lebanon’s principles and characteristics were under threat.
“Lebanon’s ability to remain what it is, [a country] of independence, freedom, democracy, equality and mutual respect, is being threatened, by risky minds and cisk ambitions seeking to change its traditions and norms,” he said.
“And for these reasons the choice is clear, between the era of those who support martyrs and the right of the innocent and oppressed and those who support criminals and protect terrorists.”
Many of his sentiments were echoed by other speakers at the really. MP Marwan Hamadeh, who survived an assassination attempt in 2004, addressed Prime Minister Najib Mikati on several occasions, asking him to fund the STL and allow justice to be achieved under his government.
“Only the criminal and the collaborator fear the tribunal. The situation today is extremely dangerous and that is why I responded to [former] Prime Minister Saad Hariri's call to attend this gathering,” Hamadeh said.
Hamadeh also spoke about events in Syria, urging President Bashar Assad to implement the Arab League plan designed to end the crisis in that country.
“Bashar, you have to choose. Options are open but fate is inevitable,” he added.
March 14 MP Butros Harb slammed Hezbollah’s arms, saying the party lost its legitimacy when it used its arms for domestic purposes.
“We are here today to reiterate our position towards the illegitimate arms being carried within the state, against it and at its expense,” Harb said,
"I reiterate our rejection of any illegitimate arms which we see as posing a danger to the state, not to Israel. They pose a danger to our national unity, institutions, security, justice and our economy,” he added.
The MP also said that March 14 will not compromise on the issue of the international tribunal, warning Mikati’s government that the coalition would retaliate if funding of the court is not approved.
He also praised Progressive Socialist Party ministers in the Cabinet who had voiced their support for funding the court.
He slammed the government’s position regarding events in Syria especially Lebanon’s vote in the Arab League earlier this month against suspending Syria’s membership.
“I am ashamed by Lebanon’s positions and its government regarding the popular movement in Syria,” Harb said.
Tripoli MP Mohammad Kabbara was the first of the speakers, and described Sunday's rally as a continuation of the Cedar Revolution in 2005, which called for the withdrawal of Syrian troops in Lebanon following the assassination of Hariri.
"Tripoli today continues its historical path of struggle as it has sacrificed many lives for [Lebanon's] independence and now is offering lives against [President] Bashar Assad's army," Kabbara said.
He also added that it was time to overthrow the “criminal, hegemonic” Assad who, Kabbara said, is nearing the end of his rule.
Future Movement MP Samir Jisr also spoke to the crowd, stressing the importance of Lebanon’s sovereignty over its territories and rejecting Hezbollah’s possession of arms.
“Sovereignty over all territories in the country should not only be theoretical but also implemented,” Jisr said, adding that the state alone should have the prerogative to protect Lebanese and possess arms.
“From here, we want to force the collapse of arms held under the title of the resistance,” he said.
He also addressed rival politicians, asking them to place Lebanon’s interest before anything else.
Since the collapse of Hariri’s Cabinet in January, when ministers from the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition resigned, lawmakers from the Future Movement and March 14 coalition have repeatedly described the fall of the government as a coup by Hezbollah, accusing Mikati of having no decision-making power.
During an interview with MTV in July, Hariri said his ouster was decided by Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and his ally Assad.
Hariri has also voiced his support for what he describes the Syrian people’s calls for freedom and change, saying that Assad’s era is about to end during one of his now-frequent question and answer sessions on the social networking website Twitter.
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