On the night of Thursday, February 13th, Future Movement supporters raided the Martyrs’ Square in Beirut and attacked the protesters. Men and women were assaulted, and ambulances rushed to the scene.
The attackers chanted: “Allah, Hariri, Tariq El-Jdideh” while some raised the Future party’s flag. At first, security forces didn’t intervene to stop the offenders. In one footage, a protester can be heard reproaching them for being ‘spectators’.
This group of Hariri’s supporters destroyed the revolutionaries’ tents in the square. This led to a confrontation between attackers and the protesters, and the conflict escalated before the riot police dispersed them.
The office of the Future Movement denied its involvement in the attack. Abdel Salam Moussa, the movement’s general media coordinator, denied the allegations.
He clarified that the circulating news is false and that the Future Movement would never perform such shameful acts.
Moussa said that throwing such accusations against the movement is rejected, and the intentions behind it are clear. In other words, what he’s saying is that the thugs were sent in an attempt to defame the Future Movement.
Noting that the media platforms identified the attackers as ‘Future Movement Supporters’ because of their chants and the flags they were seen holding.
These violent acts against the Lebanese revolutionaries are becoming very common in the recent period. Mainly, there are some groups who are seeking to intimidate the protesters to crash the revolution, although this goal is too far from reach.
This violent event came on the eve of the annual commemoration ceremony of the martyrdom of Rafic Hariri. Saad Hariri has abstained to invite some political parties, including the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah, and also President Aoun.
Is it a coincidence or a planned attack to discredit the Future Movement? The question remains, and probably will, considering that no investigation is expected.
