BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri Sunday thanked the public for the widespread support since he announced his resignation on Nov. 4, and called for the banners erected across the city to be taken down.
“Thank you to all the citizens who expressed their sincere feeling towards me in every way and means,” Hariri said in a statement from his media office. “And thank you to the Army and security forces for their vigilance in preserving the safety of the public who came to Center House,” he said in reference to the large crowds who turned up to greet the prime minister at his Downtown Beirut residence after Independence Day celebrations on Nov. 22.
He also thanked local, regional and international media for their “special coverage” in recent weeks.
He then called on the Beirut Municipality to take down banners and pictures that had been erected across the city in the wake of his resignation.
After Hariri announced his resignation on Nov. 4 in a televised address from Saudi Arabia, banners and posters of the prime minister appeared across Beirut, Tripoli and Sidon as well as other areas of the country, with slogans such as “We’re all with you” and "We're all Saad" printed beside his image.
President Michel Aoun also dedicated the Beirut Marathon on Nov. 12 to the prime minister who was still in Saudi Arabia at the time. Pictures of Hariri taking part in the 2016 Beirut Marathon were put up around the race course and were shared widely on social media.
Read more:
- Hezbollah Sees Hariri's Return to Lebanon as 'Positive'
- Lebanese Run a Marathon to 'Free' Hariri from Saudi
This article has been adapted from its original source.
