Alliance of March 14th

The Alliance of March 14th is a coalition Lebanese Politique gathering the personalities and political movements which took share with the Révolution of the cedar following the assassination, the February 14th 2005, of old the Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

These forces constituted before the legislative elections from May-June 2005 the opposition to Syrian hegemony on the Lebanon.

Name “March 14th” refers to the date of the great demonstration which gathered with Beirut more than 1,3 million Lebanese claiming the withdrawal of the Syrian troops of the country and the full light on the assassination of Rafiq Hariri.

The parties and political movements which belong to this alliance are the following:

the Running of the Future, directed by the Appointed sunnite of Beirut Saad Hariri;
the Socialist party progressist directed by the deputy and former minister Druze Walid Joumblatt;
the Lebanese Forces directed by the former chief of Christian Militia Samir Geagea;
the party Kataëb directed by old the President of the Republic Amine Gemayel;
the Left national liberal directed by Dory Chamoun;
the national Block (BN) directed by Carlos Eddé;
the Movement of the democratic left represented by the deputy Elias Atallah and to which belonged the journalist assassinated Samir Kassir;
the Movement of the democratic revival directed by the former deputy Nassib Lahoud;
the gathering of Kornet Chehwane gathering various personalities of which the minister Nayla Moawad, the deputies Boutros Harb and Samir Frangié and the journalist and deputy assassinated Gébrane Tuéni;
the Free patriotic current of the General Michel Aoun took share with the Révolution of the cedar and the manifestation of March 14th, but left the political gathering following the dissensions created by the electoral alliances of 2005.

At the conclusion of the legislative elections of 2005, the Alliance of March 14th gained the parliamentary majority with 72 deputies out of 128 (brought back to 71 deputies after the death of the deputy Edmond Naïm and its replacement by an independent deputy Pierre Daccache). This majority narrowed with 68 deputies since then, following the defection of the deputy alaouite of Akkar Moustapha Hussein and with the assassination of the deputies Pierre Amine Gemayel the November 21st 2006 and Walid Eido the June 13rd 2007. The seats of these two last by are not always provided. 16 ministers out of the 24 who account the government of Fouad Siniora belong to this Alliance.

The principal political positions defended by the Alliance of March 14th are the following ones:

the ousting of the President of the republic Emile Lahoud whose mandate is considered to be illegitimate since its extension under Syrian diktat in September 2004;
the creation of a Court with international character to judge the assassins of the ex-First minister Rafiq Hariri;
the installation of diplomatic relations with the Syria and the layout of the Border with this country;
a hostility with regard to the Syrian policy towards the Lebanon;
the monopoly of the detention of the weapons and the decision of the war and peace between the hands of the Lebanese government, thus the Hezbollah must disarm (the army remains under the control of the president and of the general Michel Sleiman but the gendarmerie is with the hand of the Prime Minister).

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