Middle East News
Friendly football match among rival Lebanese to mark civil war
Apr 13, 2010, 17:10 GMT
Beirut - Rival Lebanese political leaders Tuesday marked the 35th anniversary of the start of the country's 1975-1990 civil war with a friendly football match meant to demonstrate the country's unity.
Members of the 30-member Lebanese cabinet and the 128-member parliament from the Western-backed majority and the opposition led by Hezbollah, played a friendly football match at Beirut's city stadium, which had been destroyed in the civil war.
Youth and Sports Minister Ali Abdullah told the German Press Agency dpa the game showed the Lebanese public that 'their leaders are united to serve their interests.'
Premier Saad Hariri, dressed in red shorts and red t-shirt, led his team in the game which was not open to the general public but was being televised.
Hariri issued a statement Tuesday calling for 'coexistence and total parity between Muslims and Christians' as Lebanon commemorates the war's outbreak.
'This is not just an occasion to remember the tragedies of the past, but also to induce us to take lessons from it ... and work with all Lebanese without exception to build a better future for our children,' he said.
The Lebanese civil war, which broke out April 13, 1975 between Christians and Muslims, resulted in an estimated 130,000 to 250,000 civilian deaths. Another one million people - about one-third of the population - were wounded, half of whom were left with lifetime disabilities.
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