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The late Prime Minister Hariri
Photo: AFP

Beirut: Thousands attend Hariri rally

Crowd gathering in memory of assassinated anti-Syrian prime minister also calling for international tribunal to investigate murder

Tens of thousands of flag-waving Lebanese have packed a Beirut square to remember former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri four years after he and 22 others were killed in a massive car bombing.

 

The crowd at this year's rally is also demonstrating its backing for an international tribunal that will try suspects in the Feb. 14, 2005, assassination.

 

Four years after Hariri's death in a truck bombing, no one has been brought to justice, and the country remains deeply divided over whether to follow the pro-Western path of Hariri's supporters or the more radical pull of groups with ties to Iran and Syria.

 

Hariri had close ties with Western leaders and was credited with helping rebuild Lebanon's capital after the 1975-1990 civil war. Before his death, he had tried to limit neighboring Syria's influence over Lebanon, and many accused that country's leaders of involvement in his killing. Syria denies those accusations.

 

Display of political power

The rally in Martyrs' Square was primarily a display of political power in support of Hariri's allies in the parliament's pro-Western majority. Those parties, backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, will face a tough election battle in June against rivals supported by the Hezbollah militant group and its Syrian and Iranian allies.

 

The Western-backed parliamentary majority urged supporters to show up in force at Martyr's Square in central Beirut to demand justice for Hariri and other anti-Syrian figures killed in Lebanon in the last four years.

 

"They died so that the nation can rise again. The international tribunal will render justice for everyone," read placards posted throughout the city ahead of the rally.

 

The UN tribunal to try Hariri's alleged killers is due to open its doors on March 1, housed in the former headquarters of the Dutch intelligence service on the outskirts of The Hague. The tribunal will also try those presumed responsible for a series of attacks on other Lebanese political and media figures.

  

MP Moustapha Allouch, a member of the parliamentary bloc headed by the slain ex-premier's son and political heir, Saad Hariri, said he had no doubt that the tribunal will serve its purpose. "There are those who had doubts about the tribunal and thought it was a political instrument but it has now become a reality," Allouch said.

 

Seven suspects have been arrested in connection with Hariri's assassination. Among them are four generals, including the former head of Lebanese state security.

 

The UN probe has also implicated senior officials from Syria but Damascus has strongly denied any connection with Hariri's death and accuses Washington of using the tribunal as a political weapon.

 

US President Barack Obama on Thursday vowed to support UN moves to bring to justice Hariri's killers.  

"As we share our grief with the Lebanese people over the loss of prime minister Hariri, we also share our conviction that his sacrifice will not be in vain," Obama said in a statement

 

"The United States fully supports the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, whose work will begin in a few weeks, to bring those responsible for this horrific crime and those that followed to justice."

 

Hizbullah demands procedural transparency

For its part, the Hizbollah-led alliance in Lebanon, which is backed by Syria and Iran, is demanding full transparency as far as the UN probe and tribunal. "We don't want the ongoing investigation and the tribunal to be politicized because any such move would affect credibility," said Hizbollah MP Hassan Hoballah.

 

Meanwhile the alliance led by the militant group has accused the parliamentary majority of using Saturday's commemoration to rally voters ahead of legislative elections in June.

 

Christian leader Michel Aoun, who is allied with Hizbollah, said earlier this week that Hariri's death was "paying off electorally" for the majority.

 

Osama Safa, head of the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies, said that Saturday's rally will be a sort of "referendum" for the majority. "Their ability to rally people will be carried over at the ballot box," he said.

 

Associated Press contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.14.09, 13:21
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