Hariri supporters more active as memorial looms
By Mohammed Zaatari and Antoine Amrieh
Daily Star staff
Saturday, February 12, 2011
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SIDON/TRIPOLI: Supporters of the Future Movement stepped up their activities Friday in the run-up to the February 14 commemoration of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
In Tripoli, several hundred female supporters of the Future Movement held an afternoon march in the northern city, singing patriotic songs and declaring their support for caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his late father.
The movement is gearing up for the Monday commemoration by holding similar activities around the country, and particularly in the Tripoli and Akkar regions. The main ceremony will be held at the BIEL complex in Beirut.
In Sidon, the slain Hariri’s sister Bahia, an MP for the city, has urged the public to pray for political stability in the run-up to the commemoration, and the mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, led Friday prayers at Bahaeddine Hariri mosque in the city.
Qabbani urged feuding Lebanese factions to close ranks, saying unity and accord were essential to attain a real partnership in running the country.
“Lebanon can only rise with the unity of its people, understanding, [sectarian] balance and cooperation so that all the Lebanese can remain united in accord and harmony. This will help achieve a real partnership [in government] for everyone,” he said, urging rival Lebanese factions to work together to build a state based on institutions.
In his sermon, Qabbani praised Hariri as “a great man” who rebuilt Lebanon after it was devastated by 15 years of civil war, saying the Lebanese would not rest until Hariri’s killers were uncovered and apprehended.
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