Students representing the youth branches of the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Phalanges Reformist Movement celebrated the second anniversary of the Aug. 7, 2001 arrests during a conference held Wednesday at the Journalists Union, under the title Liberties and Human Rights. On the evening of Aug. 7, 2001, three days after the reconciliation visit that Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir made to Mount Lebanon, over 400 people were arrested. More arrests followed two days later, when the Lebanese military dispersed a demonstration organized in front of the Justice Department to denounce the previous arrests.

Speakers representing the above-mentioned parties, as well as guest speakers Jbeil MP and Christian opposition Qornet Shehwan Gathering member Fares Soueid and Ad-Diyar newspaper columnist George Bashir, recalled violations against liberties by the state and its apparatus, stressing the importance of dialogue and accountability. Speaking on behalf of the Free Patriotic Movement, Patrick Rizqallah said the only way for Lebanon to recuperate its strengths and get over its political and economic crisis is through a true national reconciliation and a just electoral law “that will open the way before all patriotic families to take part in political life.” Rizqallah said the cooperation among the Lebanese people based on “fixed principles and goals,” could only lead to “positive change.” Sami Gemayel, son of former President Amin Gemayel, spoke on behalf of the Phalanges Reformist Movement, a breakaway faction of the Phalange Party, and said he considered the occasion convenient to reassess the “status” of the Lebanese regime after “13 years of dictatorship.” Gemayel spoke of the violations the Lebanese leaders have been making and stressed the importance of accountability.

Speaking on behalf of the Lebanese Forces, Daniel Spiro said he considered the arrests made on Aug. 7 as an attempt by the authorities to “overthrow the environment of reconciliation and openness that followed the visit of the Patriarch to the mountains.” He said that the authorities consider the coming together of the Lebanese as a burden because it nullifies their excuse that they are incapable of uniting and taking matters into their own hands. Spiro stressed the importance of freedom and said dialogue based on the acceptance of the other is the most efficient and only option for solving the problems of the Lebanese. Spiro called on the Lebanese people and the state - the guardian of the Constitution - “to turn the page of the past, and to proceed with a comprehensive and real reconciliation project,” and called for the release of all political detainees, starting with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.

Soueid, for his part, said that the Lebanese “like all the people of the world, have the right to rule their own country,” and added that it was not true that the Lebanese were divided among themselves. Soueid also said that most societies of the world have become multi-cultural, and that Lebanon is no longer unique simply because of its colorful demography. “Countries such as Germany and France have complex societies but they are capable of taking care of their matters because they are sovereign states,” he said. “We have the right to ask for the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, because the Lebanese have the right to take control of matters, and at the same time demand that Lebanon enjoy the best relations with Syria and other Arab countries,” he said.
Soueid said events such as that of Aug. 7, the Bteghrin incident, the closing of MTV, and the denial of Gabriel Murr of his seat in Parliament, should be remembered. Soueid also said that corruption needs to be fought because it is “not acceptable that the Lebanese state should be under such loans at a time when there is no national hospital or university for the Lebanese people.” Bashir for his part said that the arrests of Aug. 7 were the result of the authorities’ discomfort with the “historical reconciliation among the Lebanese.” He also stressed the role that the Lebanese free media played in bringing the truth about what happened on that day to the Lebanese people and to the world.