Revolution•ثورة

Protesters reclaim Independence Day

• On the 76th anniversary of Lebanon's Independence and the 37th day of the revolution, protesters filled squares across the country and marched in Baalbeck, Jal el Dib, Tripoli, Byblos, Jounieh, Beiteddine, Sidon, Nabatiye, Tyre, and various other regions.
• For the first time in history, Lebanon celebrated the holiday with civil marches instead of the traditional military parade organized by the state. The military parade was moved to Yarze.
• In Beirut, thousands packed Martyr's Square and Riad el Solh. One parade included 41 groups of musicians, students, teachers, women's rights groups, athletes, lawyers, and others. Demonstrators erected a monument built from the remains of tents destroyed on October 29, and animations were projected on 'the Egg' theater.

Continued arrests of protesters and activists

• Sabaa Party announced the arrest of one of its members, activist Mohamad Zo'bi, on Friday morning. Zo'bi got picked up by a policeman Thursday night as he was sitting in Nour Square. His family did not know his whereabouts until an anonymous phonecall informed them he was being kept in Beirut.
• In Sidon, protester Mohamad Baysouni was detained by security forces for holding a banner depicting President Michel Aoun, Speaker of the House Nabih Berry and Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, with the line "Dinosaurs are extinct. Phoenicians are over, the French escaped, why are you still here? Leave us alone, people are tired."
• Baysouni was released later in the evening by the army.

Aoun, Hariri, and Berri attend Independence Ceremony in Yarze

• As a result of protests, the traditional Independence Day military parade, which usually takes place in Beirut's Martyrs' Square, was moved to the Ministry of Defense in Yarze this year. It was attended by President Michel Aoun, Speaker of the House Nabih Berry, Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, and other officials.
• The military parade included all the different regiments, lasting approximately an hour. The event, which was broadcasted live, was marked by noticeable tensions between the three leaders.

'Revolution Fist' in Martyrs' Square set on fire

• The giant revolution fist in Martyrs' Square was set on fire by an unidentified perpetrator early Friday morning.
• Protesters in tents reported that a masked man on a motorcycle had warned them he would commit a harmful act, shortly before the incident occurred. They could not put out the fire, and the monument completely burnt down. An identical fist was reinstalled in the evening.
• The clenched fist was installed during the first week of the revolution and became the subject of controversy, as pro-establishment TV stations accused it of symbolizing an international conspiracy, During their October 29 attack on Martyrs' Square, Hezbollah and Amal supporters had tried to set fire to the sculpture but failed.

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