By NNN-KUNA,
Beirut : Amidst the deep political standoff between the ruling alliance and the pro-Syrian opposition bloc, thousands of Lebanese held a mass rally here to mark the 33rd anniversary of the eruption of the civil war (1975-1990) in Lebanon.
The rally Sunday, organised by 55 civil society organisations, started at the Mar Michael district, south Beirut, where the civil war erupted, before the demonstrators marched to downtown Beirut.
The leaders of the rally planted an olive tree as a symbol of peace and opposition to the possibility of a new devastating civil war.
Concern over a possible civil war has recently mounted among the Lebanese following the Arab League’s failure to mediate in the political standoff.
While the two sides of the political divide, namely the ruling March 14 Bloc and the opposition March 8th Bloc, agree in principle on naming the army chief, General Michel Suleiman as new head of state, they differ over a number of political reforms.
The March 14 Bloc is for filling the presidential post which has been vacant since Nov 24, but the opposition bloc insists on passing the new electoral law and forming a new coalition government first.
In a statement to the nation earlier Sunday, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Al-Siniora said: “The anniversary of the civil war reminds us of the need to restore the constitutional establishments of the country.”
“The election of a new president takes priority over any other issue,” he said.
“The 33rd anniversary of the eruption of the civil war is more gloomy than the previous ones due to the spectre of new war looming large,” he added.
An estimated 140,000 people lost their lives, another 200,000 were injured and 17,000 were deemed missing in the civil war that came to an end in September, 1989, when the Lebanese warring parties singed the National Accord Document, in Taef, Saudi Arabia.