Cedar Revolution

The main goal of the cedar revolution was the ending of the Syrian military occupation of Lebanon, which had lasted about 30 years (since 1976). In addition, many Lebanese called for the return of former Prime Minister 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 Rafik Hariri
• Running free and democratic parliament elections in spring 2005 free from Syrian interference

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,[5][6] and used to draw a comparison with the Rose Revolution of Georgia, the Orange Revolution of Ukraine, and the Purple Revolution of Iraq.

In the Arab world (save for Lebanon itself), it is better known as Lebanon's Intifadat al-Istiqlal (Independence Uprising). The term was coined by Democratic Left Movement leaders Samir Kassir and Hikmat Eid; they stressed the term Intifada to give the uprising an Arab meaning by linking it to the Palestinian Intifada and the term independence to stress its liberation side. Other names include the Cedar Spring (Arabic: ربيع الأرز - Rabi' el Arz),[7] 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.[8] The names used by the local media, like the LBC and Future TV, to describe this event include Lebanon Independence (Istiqlal Lubnan), Lebanon Spring (Rabi' Lubnan), or just Independence 05.

The word Cedar refers to a national emblem, the Cedar of Lebanon, a tree featured on the flag of Lebanon.

Rue Minet al Hosn where Rafik Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005.

On 14 February 2005, the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik 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,[9] 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.[10]

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 "[President of Lebanon] Lahoud is me. ... If you and Chirac want me out of Lebanon, I will break Lebanon."[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] (See international reaction below.)

On 21 February 2005, tens of thousands of Lebanese protestors 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 (also referred to by protestors as "Liberty Square"), in addition to the constant daily gathering of Lebanese there.[15]

Similar demonstrations by Lebanese immigrants were also taken place in several cities across the world, including Sydney - Australia (where over 10,000 people demonstrated in the city), San Francisco, Paris, Düsseldorf, Montreal, and London.

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Daily protests against the Syrian occupation attracted 25,000 people. While in the 1990s most anti-Syrian demonstrations were predominantly Christian and were put down by force, the new demonstrations were distinctly non-sectarian and the government did not respond with force or intimidation.[16]

On 28 February, the government of pro-Syrian prime minister Omar Karami resigned, calling for a new election to take place. Karami said in his announcement: "I am keen the government will not be a hurdle in front of those who want the good for this country". The tens of thousands gathered at Beirut's Martyrs' Square cheered the announcement, then chanted "Karami has fallen, your turn will come, Lahoud, and yours, Bashar".[17]

Opposition MPs were not satisfied with only Karami's resignation, and kept pressing for full Syrian withdrawal. Former minister and MP Marwan Hamadeh, who survived a similar car bomb attack on 1 October 2004, said "I accuse this government of incitement, negligence and shortcomings at the least, and of covering up its planning at the most... if not executing".

On 23 March, Michel Abu Arraj, the Lebanese magistrate responsible for the internal Lebanese investigation of the assassination asked to be excused, citing a heavy court schedule. The Judicial Council of Lebanon was expected to rule on his request the next day.[18] His resignation and the consequent need to replace him raised the possibility of a delay in the investigation.

Hariri's murder triggered increased international pressure on Syria. In a joint statement, U.S. President George W. Bush and French president Jacques Chirac condemned the killing and called for full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which requires the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the disarming of Hezbollah thriving in Southern Lebanon.

At one point there seemed to be confusion about the extent to which Syria was willing to withdraw from Lebanon. Arab League head Amr Moussa declared that Syrian president Assad promised him a phased withdrawal over a two-year period, but the Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dakhlallah said that Moussa had misunderstood the Syrian leader. Dakhlallah said that Syria will merely move its troops to eastern Lebanon. Since then, Syria has declared that Resolution 1559 will be fully complied with, and in a matter of months rather than years.

On 15 March, upon hearing purportedly leaked information that the United Nations' special investigation may have found that the Lebanese authorities covered up evidence of the murder, columnist Robert Fisk alleges that Hariri's two sons fled Lebanon, reportedly after being warned that they too were in danger of assassination.[19]

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in response to a request by the Security Council, sent a team of Irish, Egyptian and Moroccan specialists, led by Ireland's deputy police commissioner, Peter FitzGerald, to investigate the assassination. Even before the FitzGerald Report was published, Annan has said a further, more comprehensive investigation may be necessary. FitzGerald thanked the Lebanese government for its cooperation before departing.[20] The report cites the Syrian presence in Lebanon as a factor contributing to the instability and polarization that preceded the assassination. The report also criticizes the Lebanese government and intelligence agencies for the handling of their own investigation into the affair, calling it flawed and inconclusive. The Lebanese government in turn has described the report as "alien to reality" and criticized the UN team for not seeking broader government participation in the investigation. The government has agreed to a further, more comprehensive international inquiry, but insisted that any future inquiry would have to work with the government. At a press conference on 25 March, then Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud said the inquiry would be expected to work within an established framework "in co-operation with the state".[14]

Trucks waiting in line after Syria closed its northern border with Lebanon following its withdrawal[21]

On 2 March 2005, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced that his troops would leave Lebanon completely "in the next few months". Responding to the announcement, opposition leader Walid Jumblatt said that he wanted to hear more specifics from Damascus about any withdrawal: "It's a nice gesture but 'next few months' is quite vague - we need a clear-cut timetable".[22]

On 3 March, Germany and Russia (Syria's Cold War ally) joined those calling for Syria to comply with Resolution 1559. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said: "Lebanon should be given an opportunity for sovereignty and development and this can only be achieved by complying with Security Council resolutions that stipulate immediate Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon."[23]

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stated that "Syria should withdraw from Lebanon, but we all have to make sure that this withdrawal does not violate the very fragile balance which we still have in Lebanon, which is a very difficult country ethnically."[24]

On 5 March, Syrian leader Assad declared in a televised speech that Syria would withdraw its forces to the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, and then to the border between Syria and Lebanon. He did not provide a timetable for a complete withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

On the weekend of 9 and 10 April, on the anniversary of the ignition of the Lebanese Civil war, the last remaining Syrian troops left Lebanon, ending their 30-year presence.[25]

Several Arab states also joined in with the withdrawal demands. As Al-Assad arrived in Saudi Arabia for emergency consultation with then Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdelaziz, Assad was told in no uncertain terms that Syria must comply with UN Security Council demands immediately. It was reported by the opposition Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star that Assad offered to remove most of the 15,000 troops Syria has stationed in Lebanon during the talks, but insisted on leaving a force of 3,000 in the country.[23] This has not been independently corroborated.

The annual Arab summit, which took place on March 23 in Algeria, did not ask Syria to withdraw, which would have given the pullback an Arab endorsement as envisaged in the 1989 Taif Agreement rather than making it dependent on Resolution 1559. Algerian Foreign Minister Abdel-Aziz Belkhadem discussed the consensus ahead of the summit, stating that "we all agreed to demand the implementation of the Taif Accord with respect to international legitimacy". Controversially, the crisis in Lebanon was not included on the agenda for the summit,[26] which almost half of the Arab leaders did not attend.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called for a "massive popular gathering" on March 8 supporting Syria and accusing Israel and the United States of meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs. Nasrallah also criticized UN Resolution 1559 saying "The resistance will not give up its arms... because Lebanon needs the resistance to defend it", and added "all the articles of U.N. resolution give free services to the Israeli enemy who should have been made accountable for his crimes and now finds that he is being rewarded for his crimes and achieves all its demands."[27]

This Beirut rally called by Hezbollah dwarfed the earlier anti-Syrian events; CNN noted some news agencies estimated the crowd at 200,000,[28] the Associated Press news agency estimated that there were more than 500,000 pro-Syrian protestors, while The New York Times and Los Angeles Times simply estimated "hundreds of thousands".[29][30] Al Jazeera reported a figure of 1.5 million. The predominantly Shi'ite protestors held pictures of Syrian President Bashar Assad and placards reading, in English, "No for the American Intervention". A couple of anti-Syrian media sources noted that it was likely that many of Lebanon's approximately 500,000 Syrian guest workers participated in the rally.[31][32] In addition to demonstrating the extent of popular support for Syria in Lebanon, the demonstration reiterated Hezbollah's rejection of Resolution 1559, whose call for the disbanding of all Lebanese militias threatens the continued existence of its military wing, the force credited for the liberation of south Lebanon from Israeli occupation. Nasrallah also held demonstrations in Tripoli and Nabatiyé on 11 and 13 March.

Ten days after his resignation, Omar Karami was reappointed prime minister and called on the opposition to participate in government until the elections slated for April 2005.

On 13 March, tens of thousands protested in the southern city of Nabatiyé in support of Syria and opposition to UNSCR 1559, according to reports. The Tripoli protests were canceled.

On 14 March, the one-month memorial of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese rallied in central Beirut on Monday chanting "Freedom, Sovereignty, Independence" and carrying a huge Lebanese flag. They flocked from throughout the country, many unable to even enter the city due to heavy traffic. The demonstration was called by the different factions of the anti-Syrian opposition (including the Hariri family and other groupings) and was trumpeted by the different private media, namely Future TV, a private enterprise part of the media empire controlled by Hariri's family and the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation LBCI, generally aligned with the Lebanese Forces, the right-wing Christian party.

The demonstration occurred in Martyrs' Square, the site of Hariri's grave and a center of the newly reconstructed city rebuilt in large part through Hariri's efforts. During the Lebanese civil war, factional infighting between the groups united in Martyrs' Square had turned the area into an impassable moonscape.

The Lebanese protestors demanded an international inquiry into Hariri's murder, the firing of Syrian-backed security chiefs in the Lebanese government, and a total Syrian pullout from Lebanon.[33][34]

On 26 April 2005 international news agencies and the UN reported the last Syrian troops and intelligence agents had crossed the border in withdrawal from Lebanon. The Syrian government officially notified the United Nations that it had withdrawn its troops in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004. In a letter to the UN, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said his country "would like to officially inform you that the Syrian Arab forces stationed in Lebanon, at the request of Lebanon and under an Arab mandate, have fully withdrawn all their military, security apparatus and assets." On 27 April 2005,[35] the Lebanese People celebrated for the first time their first day free from Syrian omnipresence.[36] Also on 27 April 2005, The Washington Post reported that "Syria has not withdrawn a significant part of its intelligence presence in Lebanon, undermining its claim yesterday to have ended its 29-year intervention in its western neighbor, U.S., European and U.N. officials said."[37] This claim was reiterated by US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice on 25 May.[38]

Both participants and observers of the Cedar Revolution demonstrations have asked if the movement was influenced by recent local and regional events supporting democracy. Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt remarked to a reporter of The Washington Post, "It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world".

Other views maintain that Lebanese anger against perceived Syrian hegemony had been simmering for decades, and the assassination of a popular leader was the spark that gave birth to the movement, independently of foreign and regional developments. Lebanese opposition leader and newspaper columnist Samir Kassir, for example, wrote that "democracy is spreading in the region not because of George Bush but despite him." He gave far more credit to the Palestinian uprising as an inspiration to Lebanese activists.[39]

Others caution that very little has actually changed, apart from the mainly "cosmetic" disappearance of Syrian Soldiers from their presence on the outskirts of Lebanese cities, and that Syrian control of Lebanese foreign affairs and trade may yet endure. Some critics argue that the rush to celebrate a supposed 'Revolution' was far too premature.[40]

When Omar Karami failed to form a government, he resigned for good on April 13, 2005, and elections were called for the period of 29 May through 19 June 2005. Saad Hariri formed an anti-Syrian bloc that, ultimately, won 72 of the 128 available seats in the unicameral National Assembly.

Wikinews has related news: Category:Lebanon

• Syrian occupation of Lebanon
• List of attacks in Lebanon
• 2007 Lebanon conflict
• Colour revolutions - as a series of related movements
• 2021 Lebanese protests

• World Council for the Cedars Revolution
• Independence Movement "Harakat Al Istiklal" Official website
• Lebanese March 14 Movement
• Lebanese March 14 Movement's General Secretariat
• Future Movement Official website
• Lebanese Forces Official website
• Tajaddod/Democratic Renewal Youth's Blog
• Cedar Revolution Photo Gallery
• Lebanese March 14 Emigrant Assembly