Cedar Revolution


The Cedar Revolution, known in Lebanon as the Independence intifada, was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. The popular movement was remarkable for its avoidance of violence, peaceful approach, and its total reliance on methods of civil resistance.
The primary goals of the activists were the withdrawal of the Syrian troops which had occupied Lebanon since 1976, the replacement of a government heavily influenced by Syrian interests by more independent leadership, the establishment of an international commission to investigate the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri, the resignation of security officials to ensure the success of the plan, and the organization of free parliamentary elections. More generally, the demonstrators demanded the end of the Syrian influence in Lebanese politics.
At the start of the demonstrations, Syria had a force of roughly 14,000 soldiers and intelligence agents in Lebanon. Following the demonstrations, the Syrian troops completely withdrew from Lebanon on 27 April 2005. With the resignation of the pro-Syrian Karami government on 19 April, the 2005 general election, and the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the main goals of the revolution were achieved.
The opposition used the white-and-red scarf and the blue ribbon as its symbols. The most popular motto of the movement was Hurriyyeh, Siyedeh, Istiqlel.

Goals

The main goal of the Cedar Revolution was the ending of the Syrian military occupation of Lebanon, which had lasted about 30 years. In addition, many Lebanese called for the return of former president Michel Aoun, in exile since 1991, and the release of the imprisoned Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.
Additional goals of the revolution are:
  • Ousting Karami's Pro-Syrian government
  • Firing the six Lebanese commanders of the nation's main security services, along with the State Prosecutor
  • Unmasking the killers of former prime minister Rafic Hariri
  • Running free and democratic parliament elections in spring 2005 free from Syrian interference

    Origins of the name

The name "Cedar Revolution" is a term that was coined by the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula J. Dobriansky in a news conference, and used to draw a comparison with the Rose Revolution of Georgia, the Orange Revolution of Ukraine, and the Purple Revolution of Iraq. Other names include the Cedar Spring, referring to the season when protests first broke out, and also as an allusion to famous freedom and independence movements such as the Prague Spring and Damascus Spring. The names used by the local media, like the LBC and Future TV, to describe this event include Lebanon Independence, Lebanon Spring, or Independence 05. It was also known as Independence Uprising.
The word Cedar refers to a national emblem, the Cedar of Lebanon, a tree featured on the flag of Lebanon.

Groups involved in the revolution

Civilian groups and organizations

  • Qornet Shehwan Gathering : Gathering of Christian Lebanese politicians ranging from center left to center right.
  • Democratic Forum : Multi-confessional gathering of Lebanese politicians from different political parties with leftist tendencies, led by Habib Sadek
  • Citizens for a Free Lebanon: A Non-governmental organization
  • The Center for Democracy in Lebanon: A non-governmental grass-root movement
  • The Global Organization of Democratic Believers: An all volunteer group of various religious backgrounds

    Main political parties involved in the revolution

In Alphabetical Order:
  • Democratic Renewal Movement Multi-confessional Movement Leader: Nassib Lahoud, former MP and presidential hopeful.
  • Democratic Left Multi-Confessional Movement Leader: Elias Atallah, former MP and former member of the communist party
  • Free Patriotic Movement Movement Leader: Michel Aoun, MP. Also presides the "Change and Reform" coalition. He was one of the first to demand the Syrian withdrawal. The movement left the 14 March coalition before the 2005 elections after General Aoun came back from his Paris exile.
  • Syrian Traces Leader: unknown
  • Future Movement Muslim Sunni Movement Leader: Saad Hariri, MP and son of Rafiq Hariri
  • Lebanese Forces Christian Party Leader: Samir Geagea, jailed 11 years by the Syrians
  • Lebanese Liberation Movement Leader: unknown
  • Lebanese National Bloc Christian Party Leader: Carlos Eddé nephew of former leader Raymond Eddé. The Lebanese National Bloc left the 14 March Coalition in June 2009 after the parliamentary election
  • National Liberal Party Christian Party Leader: Dory Chamoun, son of former president Camille Chamoun
  • Phalangist Party Christian Party Leader: Amin Gemayel, former president of Republic.
  • Progressive Socialist Party Druze Party Leader: Walid Jumblat, a sectarian leader was the first ally with Al-Asad, MP and son of former leader Kamal Jumblat; The PSP left the 14 March Coalition in August 2009
  • Armenian Democratic Liberal Party MP Jean Ogassapian.
  • Social Democrat Hunchakian Party MP Sebouh Kalpakian.

    Background

2001 Lebanon Protest

An Anti-Syrian occupation demonstration took place in Lebanon on 7 August 2001, which turned violent when the joint Lebanese-Syrian security System tried to repress the revolt, and resulted in the arrest of hundreds without legal justification, during the tenure of the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud. On that day, the security forces attacked hundreds of young activists, mainly from the Christian parties, including the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the National Liberal Party and other non-partisan neutral activists in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut and engaged in a campaign of beatings and arrests that was characterized by extreme ferocity.

Assassination of Rafic Hariri

On 14 February 2005, the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated in a truck bomb attack, which killed 21 and wounded nearly 100. Former Minister of Economy and Trade Bassel Fleihan later died as well from injuries sustained in the blast. This attack sparked huge demonstrations that seemed to unite large numbers of citizens from the usually fractured and sectarian Lebanese population. It was the second such incident in four months: former minister and MP Marwan Hamadeh had survived a car bomb attack on 1 October 2004.
Within hours of the assassination, Lebanese prosecutors issued warrants for the arrest of six Australian nationals who flew out of Beirut to Sydney, Australia three hours after the explosion claiming that seats occupied by the men had tested positive for traces of explosives, and that they were traveling without luggage. The Australian Federal Police interviewed ten individuals in Sydney upon the arrival of the flight, and found the men they questioned did have luggage. Although Sydney airport security sniffer dogs trained to find explosives did react to aircraft seats occupied by the men, test swabs taken from three of the men by the Australian Federal Police tested negative for explosives. Within 48 hours, the Australian Federal Police absolved the six of any involvement in the assassination, giving little credibility to claims of the Lebanese officials.
Despite the lack, to date, of any actual substantial evidence implicating any party or individual, the Syrian government has borne the brunt of Lebanese and international outrage at the murder, because of its extensive military and intelligence influence in Lebanon, as well as the public rift between Hariri and Damascus just before his last resignation on 20 October 2004. The day after Hariri's resignation, pro-Syrian former prime minister Omar Karami was appointed prime minister.
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a recent adherent to the anti-Syrian opposition, emboldened by popular anger and civic action, alleged in the wake of the assassination that in August 2004 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad threatened Hariri, saying " Lahoud is me.... If you and Chirac want me out of Lebanon, I will break Lebanon." He was quoted as saying "When I heard him telling us those words, I knew that it was his condemnation of death." The United States, the EU and the UN have stopped short of any accusations, choosing instead to demand a Syrian pullout from Lebanon and an open and international investigation of the assassination. Jumblatt's comments are not without controversy; the BBC describes him as "being seen by many as the country's political weathervane" – consistently changing allegiances to emerge on the winning side of the issues de jour through the turmoil of the 1975–90 civil war and its troubled aftermath. He was a supporter of Syria after the war but switched sides after the death of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in 2000. His account is quoted, but not confirmed, in the UN's FitzGerald Report. The report stops short of directly accusing Damascus or any other party, saying that only a further thorough international inquest can identify the culprit. The Lebanese government has agreed to this inquiry, though calling for the full participation, not supremacy, of its own agencies and the respect of Lebanese sovereignty.
On 21 February 2005, tens of thousands of Lebanese protesters held a rally at the site of the assassination calling for an end of Syrian occupation and blaming Syria and the pro-Syrian president Émile Lahoud for the murder. In the subsequent weeks, nearly every Monday, a demonstration was held at Beirut's Martyrs Square, in addition to the constant daily gathering of Lebanese there.
Similar demonstrations by Lebanese immigrants were also taken place in several cities across the world, including Sydney – Australia, San Francisco, Paris, Düsseldorf, Montreal, and London.