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| Lebanese protesters hold hands to form a human chain (AFP Photo/ ANWAR AMRO) |
Beirut (AFP) - Tens of thousands of Lebanese protesters successfully formed a human chain running north-south across the entire country on Sunday to symbolise newfound national unity.
Demonstrators
joined hands from Tripoli to Tyre, a 170-kilometre (105-mile) chain running
through the capital Beirut, as part of an unprecedented cross-sectarian
mobilisation.
Tension has
mounted in recent days between security forces and protesters, who have blocked
roads and brought the country to a standstill to press their demands for a
complete overhaul of the political system.
Lebanon's
reviled political elite has defended a belated package of economic reforms and
appeared willing to reshuffle the government, but protesters who have stayed on
the streets since October 17 want more.
On foot, by
bicycle and on motorbikes, demonstrators and volunteers fanned out along the
main north-south highway.
"The
idea behind this human chain is to show an image of a Lebanon which, from north
to south, rejects any sectarian affiliation," Julie Tegho Bou Nassif, one
of the organisers, told AFP.
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Lebanese
protesters formed a 170-kilometre human chain from the southern port
of Tyre to
Tripoli in the north to underscore their unity against sectarian politics
(AFP
Photo/Patrick BAZ)
|
"There
is no political demand today, we only want to send a message by simply holding
hands under the Lebanese flag," the 31-year-old history professor told
AFP.
On the
Beirut seafront, men, women and children held hands, some carrying Lebanese
flags and many singing the national anthem, an AFP photographer said.
'Dignified
life'
In the
northern city of Tripoli, where more than half the population lives under the
poverty line, some had painted the Lebanese national symbol of a cedar tree on
their faces, an AFP reporter said.
"We're
expressing our demand for a dignified life and our dream as youth for a decent
future," 30-year-old participant Tariq Fadli told AFP.
In the
southern city of Tyre, protesters standing in a line held the edges of a long
Lebanese flag, local television showed.
A young boy
played with it, making it billow up and down.
The
protests have been remarkable for their territorial reach and the absence of
political or sectarian banners, in a country often defined by its divisions.
 |
Protestors
join hands in Nahr al-Kalb, north of Beirut, in a symbol of
anti-government
protest and national unity (AFP Photo/JOSEPH EID)
|
The
leaderless protest movement, driven mostly by a young generation of men and
women born after the 1975-1990 civil war, has even been described by some as
the birth of a Lebanese civic identity.
The army
has sought to re-open main roads across the country, where schools and banks
have been closed for more than a week.
In one of
the most serious incidents, the army opened fire on Friday to confront a group
of protesters blocking a road in Tripoli, wounding at least six people.
But the
unprecedented protest movement has been relatively incident-free, despite
tensions with the armed forces and attempts by party loyalists to stage
counter-demonstrations.
Protesters
have been demanding the removal of the entire ruling class, which has remained
largely unchanged in three decades.
Many of the
political heavyweights are former warlords seen as representing little beyond
their own sectarian or geographical community.
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An aerial
view shows Lebanese protesters holding hands to form a human
chain along the
coast (AFP Photo)
|
Brink of
collapse
The
protesters see them as corrupt and incompetent and have so far dismissed
measures proposed by the political leadership to quell the protests.
"We've
had the same people in charge for 30 years," said Elie, a 40-year-old
demonstrator walking in central Beirut on Sunday morning with a Lebanese flag.
Prime
Minister Saad Hariri on Monday announced a package of economic reforms which
aims to revive an economy that has been on the brink of collapse for months.
His
coalition partners have supported the move and warned that a political vacuum
in times of economic peril risked chaos.
But the
protesters have accused the political elite of desperately attempting to save
their jobs and have stuck to their demands for deep, systemic change.
In a now
well-established routine, entire families of volunteers showed up early on the
main protest sites Sunday to clean up after another night of protests and
parties.
After dusk,
the central Martyrs' Square in Beirut and other protest hubs in Lebanon --
including the relatively conservative city of Tripoli -- turn into a vast, open
ground where protesters dance, sing or organise political meetings.
'We are reaching out across religions and locations.'— AFP news agency (@AFP) 27 oktober 2019
When the Lebanese government tried to tax WhatsApp's free call service they instead sparked protests that have grown to an unprecedented scale https://t.co/MjZYYkvUqo pic.twitter.com/BxN9NpTH9E
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