The newly elected head of the Free Patriotic Movement and Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil

 

 

AFP and Naharnet: Thousands of supporters of a Lebanese Christian leader staged a protest in downtown Beirut on Friday, demanding a new electoral law and parliament and presidential elections.

Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, has urged a heavy turnout at the demonstration, which is separate from recent anti-government protests over the country’s ongoing trash crisis.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil announced Friday during a mass rally in Beirut’s Martyrs Square that the Free Patriotic Movement wants “a free president elected by his people” and “a parliament elected through a proportional representation law.” “We want a free president elected by his people with decisions emanating from his popular and constitutional strength. We want a parliament that does not extend its own term or violate its powers, a parliament elected through a proportional representation law, which can give youths a chance,” said Bassil.

Lucien Bourjeily, a founder of the "You Stink" movement, which has been the driver of anti-government protests the past two weeks, said it was "absurd" that Aoun was protesting against the government which he is part of.

 

 

Aoun, who is part of the current government, is calling for an end to what he says has been Christian marginalization. Lebanon has been without a president for more than a year. According to Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the president must be a Christian, the premier a Sunni and the parliament speaker a Shiite.

Aoun, a former army commander, is bidding for presidency. He is calling for a new electoral law and parliament elections to be followed by presidential elections.

Thousands of people waving the Free Patriotic Movement’s flag took part in the protest in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, forming a sea of orange.

"At your service, General," read one of the banners, in reference to Aoun. "We want new elections emanating from a fair election law," read another.

Artists, political figures, and activists took to a makeshift stage to express support for FPM chief MP Michel Aoun and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

"At your service, General," read one of the banners, in reference to Aoun. "We want new elections emanating from a fair election law," read another.

“They thought that they could force us out of political life and squares, but we returned to this square and we will return it to all Lebanese,” Bassil said, addressing a sea of supporters.

“They want to deprive us of the dream and our dream is to have a state, not a farm. We are the sons of this land … We want a ‘clean’ president who does not cover up for corruption,” the FM, who recently won the FPM’s presidency uncontested, added.

“We want a state enjoying 24/24 power supply through renewable energy. We want a state that has water resources, where dam projects are not suspended under the excuse of environmental concerns,” added Bassil, who once served as Energy and Water Minister.

He called for a parliament that represents all citizens and regions and a cabinet that “does not violate the Constitution and laws.”

“Our dream is to have a strong army, security forces and resistance,” he said.

Bassil urged a state that has “a transportation system, telecommunications and services.”

“We the Lebanese should elect our president, not foreign forces. We won’t accept a ‘wooden president’ who does not understand people’s golden equation. We won’t accept a former PM who told us in cabinet that this country does not digest reform,” he added.

As for the garbage crisis, Bassil said it should be resolved through “setting up a large incinerator for the waste of Beirut, its suburbs and the rest of regions.”

“Solutions must be decentralized and through municipalities,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Aoun addressed the rally via video link from Rabieh, sending a brief message to the demonstrators.

“I’m proud of you and I will remain proud because you have preserved the Free Patriotic Movement through your solidarity and loyalty … You heeded the call and I thank you for this glorious day, which will be the beginning of reform for our country,” he said.

Aoun had urged a heavy turnout at the demonstration.

Lebanon has been without a president for more than a year due to political disputes and electoral rivalry. Aoun, a former army commander, is bidding for presidency.

Last Friday, Aoun reiterated his call for the election of a president through a popular rather than a parliamentary vote. He also invited FPM supporters to take to the streets “to ask for reform and for participation in decision-making, and to call for fighting corruption.”

Aoun also called for the approval of an electoral law based on proportional representation and the formation of a government that introduces reforms.

In recent months, the FPM chief has slammed what he calls the “marginalization” of Christians in state institutions, amid a dispute in cabinet over military appointments and another over the government’s decision-making mechanism amid the absence of a president.

The disputes prompted Aoun and his ministers to accuse Prime Minister Tammam Salam of infringing on the jurisdiction of the Christian president.

 

Friday’s protest comes amid a wave of anti-government rallies in Beirut, sparked by the government’s inability to solve an ongoing trash crisis. Those rallies have been led by civil society groups who came together to protest government corruption that led to the latest gridlock. They now seek to unseat a political class that has dominated Lebanese politics since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

Critics say Aoun is riding on the wave of protests, which excluded political parties, for his own political agenda.