FPM Supporters Stage Motorized Protests, Hold Central Rally at Martyrs Square
Free Patriotic Movement supporters staged motorized protests on Wednesday and organized a central rally at Beirut's Martyrs Square, following a call by MP Michel Aoun to demonstrate against the extension of the mandate of top military officers in an attempt to put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
“More than 200 cars from the FPM's youth department took off in a convoy from the Mirna Chalouhi highway (in Sin el-Fil) towards Martyrs Square in central Beirut,” state-run National News Agency reported Wednesday evening.
An FPM official on the ground stressed that “the protests will be peaceful.”
“No roads will be blocked,” the official told the reporter of a TV network.
Other starting points for the motorized protests included Nahr el-Mot, Jounieh, Baabda, Batroun, Ashrafieh's Sassine Square, Nahr Ibrahim and Koura.
The protesters had started gathering at 4:00 pm. They toured several areas by car ahead of arriving at Martyrs Square.
Demonstrators at the square were joined by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, Education Minister Elias Bou Saab and several FPM lawmakers.
“We call for accepting each other and achieving true partnership,” said Bou Saab from Martyrs Square.
“We are convinced of our demands and this government cannot function without real partnership,” he added.
Delivering a speech at the central rally, FPM general coordinator Pierre Raffoul said: “We are here to demand the rights of the Lebanese. We are all eliminated from the equation -- Christians and Muslims.”
“They have been monopolizing power for the past 25 years,” he added, referring to rival parties.
“We are here to demand our usurped rights. Only partnership can protect Lebanon and immunize the institutions,” Raffoul stressed.
“Last week they said that there is a regional and international decision to eliminate General Aoun from the equation … You will never be able to eliminate General Aoun,” he underlined.
The FPM official also noted that Aoun is not “seeking posts,” calling on the other political political parties to “apologize and return to dialogue.”
“Prepare for the coming tsunami,” he added, concluding his speech.
Meanwhile, sources told LBCI television that the FPM's next protest “will not coincide with Thursday's cabinet session.”
Aoun on Tuesday urged his supporters to take to the streets following the weekly meeting of his Change and Reform bloc.
He said “there is a campaign to push the Lebanese to despair and the issue is not personal, but rather the cause of all Lebanese.”
His supporters held a similar protest last month to call for the restoration of Christian rights, claiming that the prime minister was infringing on the authorities of the Christian president in his absence.
A recent decision by Defense Minister Samir Moqbel to extend the terms of three top military officials angered Aoun, who has been for months campaigning for the appointment of new army and security chiefs.
Aoun wants his son-in-law Commando Regiment commander Chamel Roukoz to become army commander.
Wednesday's protests came a day before a session for the cabinet, which has been marred by disputes over its working mechanism, the extensions and the waste problem.
G.K./Y.R.
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