Hariri’s Murder Anniversary to be Marked by Announcement of Alliance with Syrian Opposition
The opposition March 14 coalition will mark on Tuesday the 7th anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination at a gathering of politicians, diplomats, activists and academicians that will be held in BIEL.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who is recuperating at his house in Paris from fractures in his leg, will make a speech through a giant screen at the event that starts at 4:00 pm.
Phalange party chief Amin Gemayel and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea will also address the gathering which could witness the announcement of a political alliance between the Lebanese and Syrian oppositions.
The event this year will be marked by the reading of a letter from the opposition Syrian National Council, March 14-general secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid said.
Syria has been engulfed in turmoil since last March when the regime launched a brutal crackdown on protestors.
While most speeches are likely to center on the bloodshed in Syria, the speakers will stress that the Cedar Revolution launched in Lebanon in the aftermath of Hariri’s assassination was followed by the Arab Spring that toppled several dictators in the region.
Media reports said Gemayel will focus in his speech on the unity of the March 14 forces and would announce his backing for the revolutions that took place in Arab countries.
As for Geagea, he is expected to launch a scathing attack on the Hizbullah-led cabinet and to urge the Shiite party to integrate with the Lebanese army. He will also stress the strong alliance between the LF, Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal movement and the March 14 alliance.
Hariri was killed along with 22 others on Feb. 14, 2005 in a massive suicide car bomb blast on the Beirut seafront.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, has said it would try in absentia four Hizbullah members accused of murdering the former PM.
Several officials and personalities visited Hariri’s grave in downtown Beirut ahead of the BIEL rally. Among them was MP Walid Jumblat’s son, Taymour, at the head of a delegation from the Progressive Socialist Party.
A torch, that is part of a memorial that includes a statue of Hariri, was also lit near the St. Georges Hotel where the blast went off at exactly 12:55 pm.
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