In the third movement of its kind in less than one month, thousands of Lebanese held a protest in Beirut on Sunday to demand an end to the country's confessional system.
Men and women of all ages set off with children in tow on a march from the residential neighborhood of Ashrafiyeh to the interior ministry demanding "the fall of the confessional regime."
Between 6,000 and 7,000 people took part in the protest, the third since February 27. Another rally was held on March 6. State Minister in the caretaker government Adnan Sayyed Hussein took part in the protest.
"Secular Lebanon against symbols of confessionalism," and "I don't want to change my country, I want to change the system," read some of the banners carried by the marchers.
Protesters said they will continue to hold rallies until they eradicate all signs of confessionalism in Lebanon.
Lebanon's system of government is rooted in a 1943 power-sharing agreement along confessional lines adopted after the country won its independence from France. Aimed at maintaining a balance between Lebanon's 18 religious sects, the agreement calls for the president to be Maronite, the prime minister to be Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker to be Shiite Muslim. Other government jobs are also allocated according to religious affiliation.
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