Mass rally in Lebanon to commemorate Hariri murder
2009-02-14

Category Hezbollah Assassination United Nations Nations Lebanon Syria City Damascus Category Regions Beirut Regions Asia Middle East Source (AFP)

BEIRUT (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of people crowded central Beirut on Saturday to mark the fourth anniversary of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri's killing, in a rally seen as a political litmus test ahead of legislative polls.

Waving Lebanese and party flags as well as photos of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered in a festive mood in Martyr's Square as convoys of cars and buses lined roads leading to the capital.

"We have come to make our voices heard," said Khaled Omar, 19. "We want justice and we want the United Nations to watch us today."

The rally took place as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice.

It also came as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit the Western-backed parliamentary majority headed by Hariri's son and political heir, Saad Hariri, against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.

"Today we stand at the threshold of the international tribunal," Saad Hariri told the cheering throng. "The hour of truth and justice has come and your voice will overcome that of the oppressors and we will know the truth.

"The truth will knock at the door of those who took part in the series of crimes that befell Lebanon."

Hariri also called for Arab and international observers to oversee the June 7 poll which he said will be a rendezvous for the Lebanese with "freedom of choice and a free country."

Former president Amin Gemayel, whose son Pierre was assassinated in November 2006, said the vote will mark a "choice between our camp which wants freedom, sovereignty and independence and the other camp which wants a return to hegemony and foreign tutelage."

Scuffles broke out between supporters of the majority and the Hezbollah-led alliance in several neighbourhoods of west Beirut before and after the rally, a security official told AFP.

"Some people threw stones and some were beaten up in the scuffles that left several with minor injuries," said the official, who did not want to be named.

Turnout for Saturday's rally was viewed as a test of the voters' mood ahead of the polls on June 7.

"The size of the crowd is an indicator of the results of the upcoming vote," MP Moustapha Allouch, a member of the majority alliance, told AFP.

Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others.

The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war, and later led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops after a 29-year presence.

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.

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.