Epress.am News from Armenia
Thousands of protesters congregated in the Lebanese capital of Beirut Sunday calling for the end of the “sectarian regime,” reports Lebanon’s The Daily Star.
The march was the third of its kind in less than a month and attracted more than double the numbers seen at the last event on March 6, when some 10,000 were estimated to have hit the streets, organizers said.
Critics say the confessional power-sharing agreement enshrined in the constitution and laws of Lebanon allows a small elite to dominate politics, dividing the spoils of the state among themselves and weakening the government while strengthening the systems of patronage that keep them in power, reports the Los Angeles Times.
“Today we are marching against the symbols of the sectarian system, which are the leaders, and for full equality between men and women, including the right for women to pass on their nationality,” said Bassem Chit, one of the protest organizers.
Under current Lebanese law, women who marry foreign men are not allowed to pass their citizenship to their spouses or their children, ostensibly to preserve the current sectarian balance between Muslims and Christians. Marriage, divorce and child custody are also handled by religious courts.
“We do not want religion to mix with politics, we want to keep religion separate from the state,” Imane Anane, a 38-year-old film director, told AFP.
Protestors were waving Lebanese flags and shouting slogans such as “Game over sectarianism” and “Yes to equality, yes to a citizenry whole and complete,” before singing the national anthem outside the interior ministry.
Lebanon operates on a power-sharing system based on its various officially recognized sects. A certain number of parliamentary seats are allotted for each sect: the presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian, the post of prime minister for a Sunni Muslim and the role of parliament speaker for a Shiite.
In addition to demanding the abolition of sectarianism, the movement is reaching out to various pro-secular groups, such as those seeking the introduction of civil marriages. It has also won the support of many anti-corruption activists who say sectarianism fuels the problem.
Although predominantly a youth-based movement that largely recruited supporters through social media, all ages and walks of life were present at the march Sunday.
Around 200 activists have thus far become involved in organizing the protests, but although many belong to civil society groups or political parties, they are required to participate as individuals to prevent any faction hijacking the cause.
According to one Facebook user, Jack Hagopian, an Armenian living in Beirut, said, “It was impressive, women had their fists in the air and for hours were shouting slogans to overthrow the sectarian regime and to defend their equal rights. Feminism ruled.”