Despite thousands of Lebanese returning to the streets and squares across their country on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the October 17 Revolution, the unanswered question remains: are the flames of revolution extinguished?
Many independent observers say that without a programme and leadership, it’s impossible for any revolution to achieve its mission.
Activists blamed the combined economic crisis and measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus for waning protests across the country over the past year since the October 17 uprising in 2019.
Attorney Ziad Baroud, a former interior minister and civil society activist, refused to say that the revolution had failed or that it had not brought about any change.
Ziad Baroud
Baroud, the prominent symbol of the 2019 uprising, told Arabian Business: “The performance of the authorities after the revolution is still the same before October 17, 2019, which gives the revolution and the people the right to their demands.”
Despite an unprecedented economic crisis in its modern history, Lebanon remains without a government following the resignation of Hassan Diab on August 10, in the wake of the Beirut port explosion a week earlier.
Political factions are still practicing the same traditional methods that led to popular protests a year ago, said Baroud.
He added: “Revolution is not a single body or party, but rather individuals, groups, and blocs of popular and change forces. Many are stuck in their homes and are part of it. It cannot be said that revolution is a party, but rather a climate of demand and an angry street asking for answers that are not given to it.
“Its function is not to achieve, but to demand and raise its voice, and to express pain. As for who should achieve it, it is the authority, specifically the forces of power and not the opposition.”
He said the revolution broke the “wall of silence, fear and stalling that existed and brought the country to this situation”, adding: “The calamities that we are experiencing financially, economically, banking and living are not due to the revolution, but rather the accumulations of decades that exploded on October 17, due to the performance of power for about 30 years.”
“After a year of a popular uprising, it’s impossible to ask what it has achieved, for it has fulfilled its duty, and it remains for the authority to respond or not, and if those in power responded, it would be a gain for the revolution,” he said.
One of the indicators of the revolution’s attractiveness is that some parties and politicians are trying to align with the street, largely due to mounting international pressure as they seek a financial bailout for Lebanon to stem its economic crisis.
The revolutionary potential of protestors remains minimal, due to the lack of unity around a single vision and the lack of specificity on overall strategy. The Revolutionary Coordination Committee, eventually totalling over 60 groups, has been clear that it does not represent all those demonstrating or even all those who are members of the committee.
Historian Carla Edde told AFP the movement that began last October marked a “historic turning point”.
Revolutionary movements “generally take time” to succeed, but “it is not only a question of time,” she warned.
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