Gemayel's Funeral Turns Into Anti-Syria Rally

Hundreds of thousands of anti-Syrian Lebanese turned out for the funeral of Pierre Gemayel.

Hundreds of thousands packed Martyrs' Square in Beirut on Thursday to honor slain Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, cheering speeches by his supporters who turned the funeral into a show of defiance against Hezbollah and its Syrian backers.

Gemayel, a 34-year-old rising Cabinet official from a prominent Christian political family, was shot to death Tuesday in his car in Beirut.

His anti-Syrian allies told the flag-waving crowd that they -- not Hezbollah, which has been trying to topple Lebanon's Western-backed government -- represent the real majority in the country.

Former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel called his son's death the beginning of a second uprising, one that would follow the outrage stemming from the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

"The martyrdom of Rafik Hariri ignited the independence uprising. And today we should commit ourselves to a second independence uprising, which begins today and will not cease until real change occurs," Gemayel told the crowd after his son's funeral service at St. George Cathedral in Beirut.

"Change will start at the top by electing a new president," he said, referring to Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, who is pro-Syrian.

The UN Security Council approved an expanded investigation into Gemayel's assassination that would piggyback onto the investigation of the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Since Hariri's assassination in 2005, five other prominent anti-Syrian leaders have been assassinated.

Hizbullah had opposes the Hariri tribunal, and tried to topple the government by withdrawing four of its ministers from the government. Their reasoning is clear; they fear that the investigation might point in their direction along with Syria and didn't want light shone on the full range of their activities.

The funeral ended with quite a few anti-Syrian politicians lashing out at their thug to the West.

After paying their respects to the latest victim of an assassin’s bullet in Lebanon, first Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and then Sunni leader Saad Hariri, speaking from behind a bullet-proof glass screen, railed against Syrian meddling in Lebanese affairs.

"They will not nail down our determination for life. They will not nail down our determination to refuse the culture of sorrow and death," Jumblatt told the hundreds of thousands massed in Martyrs’ Square near the cathedral where Gemayel's funeral service was held.

"They will not nail down our determination to keep the arms in the hands of the state, and our demands for the truth, justice and the international court," he said.

He was alluding to the ruling parties' insistence on an international tribunal to try the February 2005 murder of Saad Hariri’s father, five-time premier Rafiq Hariri, and to the refusal of Hezbollah to lay down its arms in accordance with UN resolutions after its summer war with Israel.

Jumblatt said the slain minister joined "the previous martyrs... who had refused... the regime of tutelage, killings and assassinations."

Prime Minister Siniora, who is pro-Syrian, has refused to take the action required under UN SCR 1701, which calls for the disarmament of Hizbullah as part of ensuring that the territorial integrity of Lebanon is secured. Hizbullah continues to dominate South Lebanon and has not laid down its weapons, and the Lebanese forces and UNIFIL have not disarmed Hizbullah. Syria played a huge role in supplying Hizbullah, as the flow of weapons and personnel across the border was instrumental in Hizbullah turning South Lebanon into its personal fiefdom.

The demonstrators carried all sorts of banners and slogans, many directed against Hizbullah, Nasrallah, Syria, and Assad. Gateway Pundit has more coverage, including photos. Rick Moran is also following the events.

UPDATE:
Blue Crab Boulevard reports that 800,000 turned out for the funeral/demonstrations (more here) and Ed Morrissey also have coverage of the funeral and the anti-Syria/anti-Hizbullah demonstrations. Keep your eye on Michael Totten's site for more.

The demonstrators are laying down their line in the sand. Let's hope that they have the strength and determination to see this through. Hizbullah and Syria aren't going to back down without a fight, though Hizbullah canceled its own planned demonstrations.

Technorati: assassination, lebanon, gemayel, syria, hizbullah.