March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soueid addressed the rally marking the 6th anniversary of the Cedar Revolution by calling the gathering the Intifada of Dignity.
“We will call this uprising the Intifada of dignity,” Soueid told the March 14 rally. “The uprising is against oppression, treachery, assassination and arrogance.”
“We promise you from this square not to back off,” he added.
Several leaders addressed the rally.
More than one million Lebanese of all faiths… Christians. Druze , Muslim Shiites and Sunnis demanded that Hezbollah be disarmed as they rallied to mark the sixth anniversary the Cedar Revolution, the uprising which inspired the recent revolts in the Middle East, International news agencies reported
The theme at Sunday’s rally is simple:” We want one state …one army to defend the country
lets unite the country and get rid of all the other states and armies .” the organizers said in reference to Hezbollah’s state within the state of Lebanon and the non-state ( illegal) arms
Democratic Left Movement leader Elias Atallah, who also addressed the rally, said: “We say a thousand no to the arms of militias.”
“We won’t back off from our demands to achieve our objectives,” Soueid told cheering crowds.
Arms outside the control of the state are “weapons of strife,” he said. “The party of the Faqih rule,” won’t succeed, former MP Elias Atallah told the gathering
Armenian’s Henchak MP Sebouh Kalbakian addressed the rally by extending his hand to the Hezbollah-led alliance, saying: “Let us build a nation together with the red and white colors (of the Lebanese flag) with the Cedar” in the middle.
Dory Chamoun, leader of of the National Liberal Party leader,addressed the rally by saying : “We say no to arms outside the control of the state.”
“We will confront them with stances,” he added.
MP Ghazi Youssef addressed the rally by saying : “Hezbollah should turn its arms towards Israel.”
“This day is to renew the national pact between all Lebanese from all sects,” Youssef added.
Caretaker Minister Butros Harb addressed the March 14 rally by saying: “We are gathered here to revive the dream that we launched in 2005.”
“We hold onto our principles,” he added
Deputy Parliament Speaker Farid Makari also addressed the March 14 rally by saying: ” The people reject the resumption of assassinations as a means of repression”
“We will put Lebanon on the right track,” he stressed
The rally this year comes after Hezbollah’s military might was blamed for the collapse of the government . The Iranian and Syrian -backed Hezbollah brought down PM Saad Hariri’s government on January 12 over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) imminent indictment which is widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri in 2005
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was appointed in January with the backing of the Hezbollah March 8 alliance and MPs Walid Jumblatt and Mohammad Safadi following the collapse of Hariri’s unity government. March 14 leaders have repeatedly said that intimidation from Hezbollah’s weapons helped secure the parliamentary majority for Mikati’s nomination.
Jumblatt and his PSP parliament members reportedly switched allegiance to Hezbollah’s PM candidate, following threats by Hezbollah.
Jumblatt, Mikati and Safadi were all elected on March 14 electoral tickets during the 2009 parliamentary elections.
March 14 parties have announced that they will not take part in the cabinet Mikati is currently forming, and Hariri vowed last week to fight the use of non-state weapons “peacefully and democratically.”
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