BY GEORGES MEHRABIAN  
BEIRUT, Lebanon—More than 800,000 people turned out March 14 for a rally demanding the withdrawal of Syrian troops and internal security forces from Lebanon. This marked the one-month anniversary of the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The rally was held at Martyrs’ Square, the central front line during the 1975-1990 civil war in Lebanon.

The rally was called for 3:00 p.m. As early as 10:00 a.m. youth were gathering in the Arab University neighborhood in predominantly Muslim West Beirut. Music was blaring in the streets as people gathered at street corners to form contingents.

“I want the Syrian forces to withdraw,” said Hussein, a teacher in Beirut who is from a Shiite village. “But I also don’t want the French and American intervention.”

Contingents of Druze villagers wore their traditional clothes. Some carried portraits of Kamal Joumblatt, former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party. His assassination in 1977 is suspected to have been at the hands of Syrian forces because of his opposition to their intervention in Lebanon. A sticker on the picture said, “The truth!”

“Truth, freedom, independence!” was the most popular chant as tens of thousands marched under the pedestrian overpass where this reporter was standing.

At Martyrs’ Square the vast expanse had been filled to capacity and all the adjoining streets and squares were overflowing. Very few banners were carried but the area was a vast sea of red and white Lebanese flags. A contingent of 10 middle school girls was chanting, “We don’t want a parliament that acts as Syria’s doormen! We want national unity!” When I asked what they meant by national unity, they answered, “Well, national union means Muslims and Christians are together. And, we are together in not wanting a republic under the Syrian boot.”

From the mainly Christian East Beirut side of town, a similar sea of people was pouring into the square carrying Lebanese flags. “Truth, freedom, national unity!” chanted one contingent after another. Some marchers also made chauvinist anti-Syrian jokes. Hundreds of thousands of Syrian migrant workers labor in Lebanon as a superexploited section of the working class.

“I am very excited by this massive outpouring of people today. People from all sectors, from all religions are here united with a common goal,” said Georges Haddad, a young lawyer from Christian East Beirut. Asked about the role of the French and U.S. governments, Haddad said, “There are many that feel that they are a big help. But these hands have been extended to us before only to have created problems for us later.”

A few contingents chanted, “France, please come in!” Paris is the former colonial master over Lebanon and has been pushing for the implementation of UN Resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

“I was in the northern highway coming into the square. Traffic is backed up for maybe 10 kilometers as people are trying to get to the demonstration. Most people are carrying signs and chanting ‘Truth, freedom, national unity!’” explained Mirna, a young oil technician. “However some are carrying photos of Phalangist militia leader Bashir Gemayel and singing Phalangist songs.” During the time of the civil war the Phalange was a fascist-like militia based among the privileged Maronite Christian minority. During the civil war they carried out brutal assaults against the revolutionary nationalist forces fighting for equal representation for Muslims in the government, as well as against Palestinians living in Lebanon.
 

An impromptu vigil is being held at Martyrs’ Square, where Hariri is buried, Which I visited March 12. About 2,000 people passed by in an hour. Outside the area set aside for the visitation of Hariri’s grave, music is blasting and many youth are gathered. Here about 40 tents have been set up around the statue dedicated to the martyrs executed by Ottoman forces during the Arab struggle against the Ottoman Empire. It is 11:30 p.m. and about 500 young people are there.

Waleed, a student at Orthodox University of Balamand in northern Lebanon, explains that each tent is set up by a different organization. The Progressive Socialist Party, the Future Movement (Hariri’s political organization), the Lebanese Forces and the Aounists, the Democratic Left (a faction that split from the Lebanese Communist Party), and so on all have tents—rightists and leftists, Muslims and Christians, all sorts of people. A steering committee that includes representatives of the main opposition organizations runs the camp.

Waleed described the careful efforts of the organizers to keep banners with anti-imperialist and constitutional slogans out of the marches and protest camp. “I belong to a group of about 30 students on my campus. We are a kind of leftist union,” he said. “We decided to also set up a tent. We were at first welcomed by the steering committee. But, when they found out that we were going to have a banner with two demands, ‘For Syrian withdrawal and no to UN Resolution 1559,’ then they prevented us, saying we had to stick to the unified demands of the opposition. I think that in such a mass movement all opinions should be heard and reflected. We decided not to set up the tent under those conditions.”

Palestinian filmmaker Mai Masri provided another example. “I have a colleague that put out a call to other colleagues and friends to go down to Martyrs’ Square together and show their support to the young people camped there,” said Masri. “They discussed what to raise and agreed on a banner that said ‘For a democratic secular Lebanon!’ About 10 of them showed up and marched towards the tent city. They were told in no uncertain terms that the banner had to come down because the time for such slogans was not now.” The slogan harkens back to the revolutionary nationalist struggles in Lebanon against the system through which the privileged Maronite Christian minority has ruled. At the center of the Lebanese civil war were the demands for equal political representation for Muslims, and an end to the special privileges granted the Christian minority.

The March 14 Daily Star, a Beirut daily, reports that demonstrations by parents of disappeared and prisoners continue. They are demanding the release of their children from Syrian jails or an accounting of those who had disappeared. The report quotes Ghazi Aad from the group of families as saying the leadership of the opposition had told them the issue could not be raised in order to maintain the focus on troop withdrawal.

What is going on as a result of the assassination and the resulting mass protests is an opening up of minds. People want to know what has happened to them in the past, in the civil war; they are searching for answers. “I want to give you an example that surprised me and put me on to what is going on,” said Lebanese film director Jean Chamoun. “A couple of days ago I was invited to show my motion picture in the southern city of Tyre. The movie deals with an aspect of the civil war. It was full of young people. After the film these youth were asking me to please tell them about the war, what were the issues, what happened, what was its history? You must realize that the rulers have imposed a collective amnesia on this question. There is not even a mention in school books.”
 
 
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