Thousands mark 20 years since Lebanon ex-PM Rafic Hariri killed

Thousands gathered in Beirut Friday to mark 20 years since the assassination of ex-premier Rafic Hariri, and to call for the return of his son Saad to political life.

Rafic Hariri, a billionaire and towering political figure who oversaw Lebanon’s reconstruction after the 1975-1990 civil war, had recently resigned as premier when he was killed on February 14, 2005.

In 2022, a UN-backed court sentenced two Hezbollah members in absentia to life imprisonment for the massive suicide bombing that killed him and 21 others, though the group has refused to hand them over. One of them, 

His son Saad was thrust into the political limelight following his father’s murder, widely attributed to Damascus and Hezbollah, which triggered massive protests that drove Syrian troops out of Lebanon after 29 years of occupation.

Saad Hariri, who has since served three times as prime minister, is based in the United Arab Emirates, but returned for the annual commemorations to a changed Lebanon.

Hezbollah, once a dominant force, is now badly depleted after its recent war with Israel and the ouster in Syria of Bashar al-Assad.

In a speech to a crowd of supporters at his father’s tomb on Friday, Saad Hariri stopped short of announcing a return to politics, but did say his Future Movement party would “stay with you and be your voice in all national milestones and in all upcoming events”.

The commemoration comes days before the deadline to implement a Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, which ended more than a year of hostilities that left the group battered.

But Hezbollah still carries weight, with supporters Thursday blocking the airport road after two Iranian planes were barred from landing.

A day earlier, Israel’s army had accused Iran of sending funds to arm the group through the Beirut airport.

On Friday, thousands of flag-waving Hariri supporters began gathering at his father’s burial site in Beirut.

“For the first time in 20 years, our joy is double: first because the Syrian regime fell… and second because Sheikh Saad is among us,” homemaker Diana Al-Masri, 52, told AFP.

Muin Desouki, 25, had come all the way from Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa region.

“We came today to stand by Saad Hariri on the anniversary of his father’s martyrdom,” he said. “We want him to return to the political scene because he is a national symbol.”

A source close to Hariri, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media, had said before his speech that he may not resume political activities right away.

Until early 2022, Hariri was the main Sunni Muslim leader in a country where political power is shared along sectarian lines.

Once enjoying strong support from Saudi Arabia, Hariri’s relationship with the regional heavyweight deteriorated because of his conciliatory attitude toward Hezbollah.

In 2017, Hariri resigned as premier in an address from Riyadh, citing Iran’s “grip” on Lebanon through Hezbollah and prompting accusations he was being held against his will.

French President Emmanuel Macron had to intervene to secure his return to Lebanon, where Hariri rescinded his resignation.

He resigned again as prime minister after nationwide protests in 2019 demanding the overhaul of Lebanon’s political class.

In a tearful 2022 announcement, he said he had suspended his political activities and those of his party, citing “Iranian influence” among other reasons.

The source told AFP that all these reasons had now “vanished”.

For decades, Hezbollah was Lebanon’s dominant political force, but its arsenal and leadership were decimated during its war with Israel, while Assad’s ouster cut the group’s vital arms supply lines.

Nodding Friday to the fall of Assad, long blamed for his father’s killing, Hariri said “no one can escape divine justice”.

‘New chance’

In January, former army chief Joseph Aoun was elected president after a more than two-year vacuum.

He was widely seen as the United States and Saudi Arabia’s preferred choice.

This month, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who had been presiding judge at the International Criminal Court, formed a government. On Friday, Salam visited Rafic Hariri’s tomb to pay his respects.

Riyadh has recently retaken an interest in Lebanese politics after distancing itself for years over Hezbollah’s influence.

“Saudi Arabia seeks a strong, organised Sunni leadership,” said Imad Salamey, head of the International and Political Studies Department at the Lebanese American University.

“If (Saad) Hariri can present himself as that figure, his return would serve both his interests and those of the kingdom.”