The leader of the Future Movement and former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, was treated to a fervent welcome by the crowd who packed Beirut’s city center, where he arrived at 12:45 PM to pay his respects at the tomb of his father, former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, assassinated at 12:55 PM on February 14, 2005, as his convoy passed near the Hôtel Saint-Georges on Beirut's waterfront.
Thousands of people gathered in the rain to cheer the Sunni leader, who was surrounded by his aunt, former MP Bahiya Hariri, and his uncle, Chafic Hariri.
Saad Hariri first prayed at his father's grave, then paid his respects to the other victims of the cowardly attack.
As he did last year, he made sure to mingle briefly with the cheering crowd, surrounded by his bodyguards, shaking hands with young and old alike.
It was an emotional moment for the man who had told visitors on Monday that he missed Lebanon.
Asked by the press for a statement before his departure from Martyrs' Square, Saad Hariri said in a message to his supporters: "The pulse of the country is here. Preserve it. I am at your side."
He declined to say whether he intended to return to political life, saying only, "All in good time."
Thousands of people gathered in the rain to cheer the Sunni leader, who was surrounded by his aunt, former MP Bahiya Hariri, and his uncle, Chafic Hariri.
Saad Hariri first prayed at his father's grave, then paid his respects to the other victims of the cowardly attack.
As he did last year, he made sure to mingle briefly with the cheering crowd, surrounded by his bodyguards, shaking hands with young and old alike.
It was an emotional moment for the man who had told visitors on Monday that he missed Lebanon.
Asked by the press for a statement before his departure from Martyrs' Square, Saad Hariri said in a message to his supporters: "The pulse of the country is here. Preserve it. I am at your side."
He declined to say whether he intended to return to political life, saying only, "All in good time."
This Is Beirut
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