A woman raises the Lebanese flag and Future Movements flag in Martyr's square on 14 February 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/ L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Around 70,000 people gathered Friday in Martyr’s Square to commemorate the 20th anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination, an annual event during which his son Saad Hariri, who has been based in the UAE, makes an appearance, often sparking rumors of his return to politics.
This year, however, the rumors were proven to be true when the two-time former prime minister and Future Movement leader promised a “return to politics,” and to be “present in all upcoming elections,” the next of which is scheduled for 2026.
The square was awash with the treed flags of Lebanon and the blue flags, half-sun flags belonging to the Future Movement, which organized the event. Both the country and the party's anthems were blasted from speakers.
The Future Movement abstained from participating in the 2022 legislative elections at the behest of Saad Hariri following his own withdrawal from politics a few months prior and his departure from Lebanon. Hariri was considered Lebanon's foremost Sunni leader and there has been a vacuum at the head of the community ever since.
His declaration of return, ahead of 2026 legislative elections, pleased many in the crowd. “We are proud of his speech because he clarified many points," said Alaa Chamseddine, from Jeb Jennin in the Bekaa. "We wish for peace and prosperity for the whole country to rise just as Sheikh Saad [Hariri] said.”
Saad Hariri arriving in Martyr's Square on 14 February 2025. (Credit: Mohammed Yassin/L'Orient Today)
Addressing the thousands in attendance, Hariri said, “It is the time for me to tell you that just as you have been by my side for 20 years, stood by my side and did not leave me, I, in turn, will remain by your side and stand with you and will not leave you.
“We want him to stay in the political scene,” Chamseddine insisted, noting that Hariri “doesn’t only represent the Sunnis he represents the whole country and the proof is that people from across Lebanon came today.”
Amal Hujeiri, from Ersal in the Bekaa, said she came because “she still lives in the footprints of Rafik Hariri. The whole village came and many people from the North came which shows how much people love him and how much we want him to come back and represent us.” she said.
Future Movement supporters in Martyr's Square on 14 February 2025. (Credit: Mohammed Yassin/L'Orient Today)
Rafik Hariri was assassinated on Feb. 14, 2005, when, as his convoy passed the legendary St George Hotel along Beirut's waterfront, a truck bomb exploded, leaving a crater in the ground 30 feet wide. Twenty-one other people were killed alongside Hariri and more than 200 injured.
His assassination marked a turning point in Lebanon, triggering the Cedar Revolution that eventually led, two months later, to the end of the 15-year-long occupation of Lebanon by Syria's Assad regime, who was largely seen to be behind his killing.
A special international tribunal, created several years later to judge the case, found a senior member of Hezbollah, Syria's ally in Lebanon, guilty of the attack, though none of the suspects were arrested or questioned.
“After 20 years, Rafik Hariri’s project is continuing,” his son said on Friday, cited by AP. “And those who tried to kill the project, look where they are now.”
Hezbollah is reeling from the assassination of its own leader by Israel and in Syria, the Assad regime has been removed from the picture altogether.
Supporters from across Lebanon
In the Bekaa, Hariri's supporters gathered in front of the coordination offices in West and Central Bekaa, Baalbek, and Arsal, carrying Future Movement flags and pictures of the late Rafik Hariri and his son, before heading to Martyrs' Square in Beirut to take part in the 20th-anniversary commemoration of Rafik Hariri's passing.
Future Movement supporters gather in the Bekaa before heading to Martyr's Square in Beirut on 14 February 2025. (Courtesy of Sara Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
In northern Lebanon, in response to an invitation from the coordination committee in Akkar within the Future Movement, thousands from various villages and towns of Akkar joined convoys of cars and buses heading toward Beirut. In Southern Lebanon, dozens of buses carried thousands of supporters of all age to Beirut.
Young Future Movement supporters gather in Saida before heading to Martyr's Square in Beirut on 14 February 2025. (Courtesy of Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
Saad Hariri met on Wednesday with President Joseph Aoun, then Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. He left the presidential palace in Baabda without making a statement, simply inviting journalists to listen to his speech scheduled for Friday.
Reporting contributed by Sarah Abdallah, Michel Hallak, and Muntasser Abdallah