March 14 Marks 'Cedar Revolution': For a Peace Uprising Pulling Us Out of Past Tragedies
The March 14 forces on Wednesday called on “all the Lebanese, without exception, to take part in preparing for an ‘uprising for peace’ that would pull us out of the tragedies of the past and lay the foundations for a better future,” during a rally at the BIEL auditorium in Beirut marking the seventh anniversary of the March 14, 2005 “Cedar Revolution.”
“Great dangers are looming today and efforts must be focused on rebuilding the foundations of a unified and unifying state that would protect all the Lebanese, through acknowledging the need to put all capabilities at its disposal,” said a document issued by the March 14 forces and recited at the rally by MP Boutros Harb.
On March 14, 2005 over a million Lebanese protesters flocked to downtown Beirut to demand the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after a nearly 29-year presence, in the wake of the February 14, 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
The withdrawal did take place in April of that year.
“For the first time since long decades, Lebanon is before a real chance to break the chain that has been confining its national life and denying it its right to stability and progress,” says the document.
It warned against “putting Lebanon in a confrontation with the historic Arab renaissance that has started to materialize with the major transformations sparked by the Arab Spring.”
The document also warned against “the disintegration of the state as a result of hegemony over its decision by political forces whose strength is not drawn from ballot boxes and the will of the majority of Lebanese, but rather from the sway of arms pointed at the chests of the Lebanese and lacking national legitimacy.”
The March 14 forces also accused the rival political forces of “relying on the hegemony of a tyrannical alliance that is on the path of collapse and disintegration.”
“Today, we are before a crucial decision: either we await the events happening around us, suffer the repercussions and try to cope, or we take the initiative to create a solid ground for Lebanon to benefit from the Arab uprising in order to strengthen its coexistence and democratic system, exit the quagmire of hot and cold wards and build its domestic peace,” says the document.
The March 14 forces reassured that “this national peace is possible.”
Turning to Syria, the document said: “The surrounding Arab countries are exiting the captivity of oppression towards the space of freedom, democracy and respect of human rights, creating a new renaissance. While the Syrian regime, which has done everything in its capacity since the ‘70s of last century to dominate Lebanon, is today facing a sweeping popular protest movement, unprecedented in Syria’s modern history and stemming from the pains of people and their aspiration to achieve freedom and dignity.”
The March 14 forces stressed that “domestic peace is the condition for us to remain free, equal and diverse, and the condition to reconnect what was severed by the years of war and hegemony, and the condition for protecting our country from the repercussions of the fall of the regime in Syria.”
“We should not repeat the mistakes of the past by depending on regional or international forces to bully others and should not fall into the trap of mixing up between a sect and a party claiming to represent it and speak in its name, as we must not hold the entire sect responsible for the grave mistakes committed by one party or another,” the document says, referring to the Shiite sect.
Source: Naharnet
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