CHOUEIFAT: Hundreds of Lebanese on Thursday massed for the funeral of a protester who was shot dead during an unprecedented anti-graft street movement that has shaken the country for nearly a month.
Mourners from across the country flooded Choueifat, the hometown of Alaa Abu Fakhr southeast of Beirut, shouting “revolution, revolution”.
Abu Fakhr, aged 38 and a father of three, died on Tuesday when an army officer opened fire as demonstrators blocked roads in the coastal town of Khalde south of Beirut.
He has been dubbed the “Martyr of the Revolution” by protesters who have taken to the streets since Oct 17 demanding the ouster of a generation of politicians they deem inefficient and corrupt.
Carrying Lebanese flags, mourners joined his family in Choueifat for a religious ceremony and then the burial.
“We are free revolutionaries and we will continue our movement,“ the mourners chanted as they marched behind Abu Fakhr’s coffin, which was draped in the Lebanese flag.
News of his death late Tuesday was met with shock and anger among protesters, who blocked roads and set tyres and rubbish bins ablaze.
They held massive nationwide protests on Wednesday and more demonstrators filled the streets on Thursday evening.
Some demonstrators laid wreaths of flowers or lit candles, while others hung up pictures of Abu Fakhr, bearing the words “Martyr of the revolution against the tyrants”.
Cross-sectarian outcry
In the northern port of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second city, a street artist has painted a commemorative mural of him on the facade of a building overlooking Al-Nour Square, the main hub of the largely peaceful protests for nearly a month.
Amnesty International condemned Abu Fakhr’s killing and said it must be investigated by civilian, and not military prosecutors.
“Only a fully independent court can bring justice to Alaa and his family,“ said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director.
Abu Fakhr is the second fatality since the start of the demonstrations.
Another protester, Hussein al-Attar, was shot early on in the movement as demonstrators blocked the airport road.
On Thursday protesters clashed in at least two places with security forces attempting to re-open blocked roads.
Television network LBC aired video footage appearing to show protesters in Taalbaya in the eastern region of Bekaa, throwing rocks and plastic chairs at soldiers, who do not respond.
The protest movement first erupted in opposition to a proposed tax on calls made via free phone apps, but it has since grown into a cross-sectarian outcry against everything from perceived state corruption to rampant electricity cuts.
Demonstrators say they are fed up with the same families dominating government institutions since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
The government stepped down on Oct 29 but stayed on in a caretaker capacity and no overt efforts have so far been made to form a new one, as an economic crisis has also battered the country.
Protesters have demanded a new government be composed of experts not affiliated with any of the traditional political parties.
But on Tuesday President Michel Aoun argued in a television interview that a government made up solely of independent technocrats would not represent the people or be able to set policies.
“Where should I look for them? On the moon?” he said, suggesting that Lebanese who did not see any decent person in power should “emigrate”.
His words fuelled rage on the streets, with protesters saying they would press with their movement until their demands are met. — AFP
