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LEBANON: Tens of thousands gather in Beirut for fifth anniversary of ex-premier’s assassination

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Tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters of Lebanon’s March 14 political bloc descended on Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square on Sunday morning to mark the fifth anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed along with 21 others in a car bombing in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005.

Fouziny Wali, 20, from the northeastern Lebanese town of Baalbek, told The Times that she had woken up at 6 a.m. to make it to the rally -- something she said she wouldn’t miss for the world.

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‘Even if there was a snowstorm, I’d come for this,’ she said. ‘I come every year.’

Mohammed, 21, a student from Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, said Hariri was for him a “symbol of democracy, progress and independence.”

Hariri’s killing set off huge public protests, known as the Cedar Revolution, and saw the rise of the March 14, an alliance backed by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. The bloc received its name from the string of massive demonstrations that resulted in Syria pulling its troops from Lebanon in April 2005 after a 29-year presence.

‘Five years ago, you came down to this very square to demand justice and freedom ... and we are not turning back,’ Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of the murdered premier, was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse before the crowds.

He also called for the U.N. tribunal established to investigate his father’s killing to bring justice.

Salim and Robert said they had come to the rally to stand up for justice -- as well as to show solidarity with their regional “free friends.”

They carried signs reading “Justice,” accompanied by photos of slain political figures, and “Where is my vote?,” the slogan used by the Iranian opposition in the aftermath of the Islamic Republic’s disputed presidential election last year.

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“This is a message of nonviolence and justice. The impunity must stop,” they said, adding that they stand with their “free friends in Tehran and Esfahan,’ Iran.

In his speech, Saad Hariri, who openly accused Syria of carrying out his father’s murder, also defended a recent decision to go to Syria and meet with his old foe, Syrian President Bashar Assad.

But Hariri pursuing warmer ties with Syria has made some wonder what direction March 14 is heading in and whether the alliance is losing its stance.

Mohammed does not think it’s losing steam.

“If that was the case, you wouldn’t see all these people here today,” he said.

-- Alexandra Sandels in Beirut

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