In order to control the spread of the coronavirus, the Lebanese government decided to extend the lockdown another two weeks on Friday, March 27th. It imposed a curfew that starts at 7 PM and ends at 5 AM and has maintained the army deployed in order to enforce the lockdown.
The new lockdown curfew was put into action the same night, on Friday 27th. Accordingly, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) used the ordered curfew to completely destroy the revolution’s tents on Martyrs’ square, the main site of the Revolution. Tents were burned down and people were taken into custody.
The protesters deemed it a “low blow by the government” and certainly a devastating one since the tents have been standing strong in Martyrs’ Square since the beginning of the revolution on October 17th of last year.
According to the revolutionaries, this hit is not something they can’t handle. Their tents have been damaged several times before, and their site burned down along with the Fist monument, and they’ve “always risen back like a phoenix.”
They actually went on building a Phoenix monument to make that strong statement.
No reports have been given yet in regards to the people who were detained, their number and their whereabouts. Social media has been intense with reactions by the revolutionaries ever since Friday night, with many expressing their anger at how the authorities burned down their site.
Daleel Thawra called it “another act by the ‘government’ [during the] times of corona to kill the revolution.”
Marc Fayad writes, “[The] revolution is bigger than tents in a Square, it’s a whole country, a unity, a spirit, an unstoppable will to change. [The] revolution will NOT DIE.”
“We’re coming back,” promises a twitter user called Michael Joe Daher.
This video from @fawramedia shows what’s left of the tents after being torn down; the ruins of the revolution with a promise, “We’ll be back.”
The coronavirus outbreak came to forcefully put a halt to the relentless activities of the Lebanese protesting against corruption and for a better Lebanon. However, the protesters have reportedly not given up on their revolution, and the slogan “we’re coming back” is now trending across the internet.
Get the latest news and updates about the coronavirus outbreak in Lebanon along with a live monitor of cases in Lebanon as well as resources and information to help you guide the outbreak on our dedicated coronavirus page.
