Posted on 03/02/2005 6:48:36 AM PST by Eurotwit
BEIRUT: In defiance of an official ban against demonstrations and an orchestrated attempt to block highways leading to the capital, tens of thousands of people converged on Martyrs' Square in Downtown Beirut on Monday, many of whom had been there for the entire night.
"They said they will prevent people from protesting as of Monday 5 a.m.," said Adnan Zaghlouli on Sunday evening. "We gathered from tonight to join tomorrow's protest."
Zaghlouli and his friends' left Tripoli on Sunday afternoon after hearing Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh's statement calling on the Internal Security Forces "to take all necessary steps to preserve security and order and prevent demonstrations and gatherings on Monday."
As soldiers manning barriers in central Beirut prevented hundreds of protesters from getting into the square, those already inside quickly came to their aid. Gathering in groups of 50, 60 and sometimes 100, demonstrators distracted discretely cooperative soldiers by rushing them in a staged fury, while those on the outside snuck in.
Mario Saad, 18, said: "Today we are calling for the government's resignation. Even, if the parliamentary procedures fail, the people have made their choice; they want a government free of foreign influence."
At around 11:30 p.m., the highway from Jounieh leading to the capital was blocked by a convoy of Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement supporters with more than 200 cars headed to the protest.
"We are all together here to say that we have had it," said Myriam Khoury and Danielle Kattar, both 24.
Kattar added: "We came here to express our opinion, and no one can intimidate
us anymore."
Khoury said: "We have had enough of being governed by incompetent people. We deserve to be represented by a new political class that stands for us."
Former Finance Minister and MP Fouad Siniora, a member of Hariri's Beirut Dignity Bloc, was visibly impressed by the scene unfolding before him in Martyrs' Square.
He said: "Hariri has for the first time united the country; he has created a base."
Opposition MP Nayla Mouawad drew thundering cheers from the gathered demonstrators Sunday night when she announced that three ministers had resigned form the government. Even though she later withdrew her statement, the crowd's enthusiasm was not affected.
Sarkis Doueihi, a member of the Bristol opposition gathering from Zghorta, said: "It is my first time to participate in a demonstration. Although it does not really look like a demonstration, it is a clear call for freedom. I am actually seeing today what I have learnt in books about the 1943 independence."
Shortly before 5 a.m. Monday, people were already up and organized, shouting slogans of freedom, sovereignty and independence.
"Al-Hamdulillah (Thank God) we are re-writing history," said Hassan Abu-Ali, 79, who came all the way from Aramoun, in Mount Lebanon.
"I will finally see my country free before I die."
For those who couldn't make it Downtown on Monday, Lebanon's congested coastal highway evolved into a motorized forum for anti-government protesters who waved Lebanese flags and chanted anti-Syrian slogans in the midst of bumper-to-bumper traffic.
As far away as Dbayye, some 15 kilometers from the capital, thousands of vehicles thronged the streets, undeterred by the government's efforts to choke off traffic by setting up a string of intimidating checkpoints.
The ensuing gridlock
was massive even by Leban-
ese standards.
But if the plan was to minimize the volume of demonstrators, it may well have backfired.
Rather than turn around, motorists and passengers seemed bent on making their voices heard; forming a singular line of protest that snaked along the coastline.
In Dora, on the outskirts of Beirut, many left their cars behind and marched through the center of the freeway traffic sprawl. Young men and women wearing colorful bandanas waved oversized Lebanese flags and shouted anti-Syrian profanities as machine-gun-toting police and soldiers looked on.
In Martyrs' Square a week before, during the first protest held after Hariri's assassination, a sea of flags for different political parties marked
the demonstration. Monday's protest was dramatically different; it raised only one flag: that of Lebanon.
Believe it or not, Arab women are good looking.
Even the Gulf Arab women are...just watch Thomas Friedman's documentary, a lot of which was shot at a Qatari University...those girls in class were babes.
Great story....kind makes all those "Iran Student Revolution has begun" threads look pretty lame.
What's wonderful to see is all these young people agitating for self-determination. They've only known a country politically dominated by a neighbor, so it's interesting to see them wanting something different which they've never known, but their parents and grandparents have.
Anyone know what percentage is Shiia? Hizbollah is Shiia but I don't think they represent the entire Shiia population. They are also in a strange position because they have tried to portray themselves as Lebanese heros. If they take the side of Syria in this popular uprising their are dead to the Lebanese people.
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A Lebanese woman waves a US flag during a celebration following Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karameh's resignation. The Lebanese capital exploded in rapturous cheers as tens of thousands of demonstrators hailed the 'people power' that led to the downfall of the government in the face of unprecedented public protests.(AFP/Joseph Barrak) |
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I take issue with that blanket statement...
Helen Thomas, Lebanese descent
Thanks, I love that photo :-)
I took all the pictures in my post from a gallery at the Daily Star site.
It's cool that this picture was taken by a photographer from AFP ;-)
Cheers.
Lebanese ping
1- The Cross of our savior Jesus Christ In red, the sign of martyrdom and glory.
2- The bearing cross of the Lebanese Christians The sign of their suffering throughout history.
3- The Diagonal cut at the base of the cross It symbolizes the strength of the Lebanese Christians’ will and their determination to keep the cross planted in this region of the world.
(source)
I know... I was only kidding.
I live in Northern VA, trust me... I've seen really hot Middle Eastern women.
That's awesome!
Neither did the first guy. :^)
"40% or so, at least it used to be."
How did a bunch of Lebs get to Puerco, excuse me, Puerto Rico? I've met several Lebanese from Panama (where all the "gentleman's clubs" are run by Palestinean Christians), Argentina, and Brazil.
Lebanese moved all across the U.S. (although the heaviest concentration was in Michigan), and many moved south to Puerto Rico after entering the U.S. Since almost all Lebanese immigrants to America were Maronite Catholics, the fact that Puerto Rico was like 95% Catholic back in the early 20th Century (it is like 75% Catholic and 25% Protestant nowadays) may have had a lot to do with that. I think that's also the reason why so many Lebanese moved to heavily Catholic South Louisiana---in fact, the past two Congressmen from the Cajun 7th CD have been Lebanese-Americans, Democrat Chris John and Republican Charles Boustany.
You're right about the large number of Lebanese throughout Latin America---again, I think Catholicism was part of the attraction. In fact, Lebanese have been hugely successful in politics in South America, with former Argentine President Menem and at least two recent Ecuadorian presidents being of Lebanese descent.
Speaking of which, what is Abdala Bucaram doing these days.
If one looks at the large Lebanese population in Brooklyn, NY, you will see that Christians dominated the immigant population through the mid-1980s. Since that time, however, there has been a large influx of Shiites from Lebanon, particularly into the Bay Ridge area.
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