The Winds of October 17 are Blowing

Some dates carry a symbolic weight. They are kept alive in our memories and remain part of our collective consciousness after they have passed. October 17, 2019, is the day that Lebanon’s most profound revolution began, facilitating the first real reconciliation between different generations and competing factions. United by the violation of their fundamental rights at the hands of Lebanon’s tyrannical authorities, the people of the country rallied to reclaim the constitution and build a state that protects its people, as well as demands for justice. The revolution adopted the slogan of “Saint-Just,” the martyr of the French Revolution, as its own. “Kellon yaani kellon” (All of them means all of them) were held responsible for violating the people’s rights and humiliating the Lebanese.
Shielded by the “immunities regime" and a "legal system of impunity," the authorities who had imposed themselves on the Lebanese people thought that through repression, clearing public squares, and burning tents where debates were held, at the hands of Hezbollah supporters, along with defamation and distortion, would spare them the inevitable. However, the revolution roared back during the parliamentary elections on May 15, 2022.
With 430,000 votes cast against the regime, proponents of change won 12 parliamentary seats- though they could have claimed around 40 if that year’s sectarian electoral law had not been tailored to sectarian powers. Despite the many challenges, primarily domestic, these revolutionaries made their mark in parliament, by standing in defense of sovereignty and rights on their own. They rejected the unjust maritime border demarcation deal that Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri played a leading role in negotiating, which surrendered our wealth, sovereignty, and borders and favored Israel.
The massive Beirut Port blast of August 4, 2020, which turned the heart of Beirut to ash, amounted to genocide against the Lebanese people that displaced over 300,000 citizens. With the state nowhere to be seen, the “October youths” launched a massive grassroots campaign to clear rubble and mend wounds. It became evident that the ruling elite, led by Hezbollah, had been aware that Beirut stood on a semi-nuclear time bomb and left its people to their fate. These figures are mere tools of the murderous Assad regime.
The people responded on August 8, with a massive demonstration that flooded downtown Beirut. They raised effigies, calling for justice and accountability for despots. The protest was brutally suppressed, with hundreds of activists with rubber bullets in their eyes.
The tyranny crossed every line; they looted bank deposits, seized life savings, impoverished the country, subjugated the judiciary, obstructed accountability, and bribed the people with a few pennies of their stolen savings handed out each month. The injustice went so far as rationing the army’s food. The most outrageous step, however, remains hijacking the truth of the Beirut Port explosion investigation and the denial of justice to the capital and its people. When the lead investigator in the case, Judge Tarek Bitar, was about to charge politicians and security officials from the country’s top brass with "probable intent to kill," they paralyzed the investigation, even filing charges against the judge whom they had appointed themselves.
Hezbollah’s stranglehold over the state and its decisions, through the imposition of a presidential void and power vacuums, was strengthened, aggravating the suffering of a starving nation by dragging it into a destructive war. Orchestrated by the Iranian regime following Yahya Sinwar’s war in Gaza, this conflict sought to reinforce the regional dominance of the Axis.
The result was predictable: negotiations for a ceasefire ensued, and their government silently signed an agreement that became binding, making the presidential void untenable. Thus, on January 9, 2025, external forces converged with popular pressure to impose General Joseph Aoun as our president- a leader who had maintained the army’s unity and allowed its soldiers to avoid going hungry as its commander. They were stunned by his inaugural speech, which evoked “Chehabism,” a state-building doctrine that they worked tirelessly to dismantle without fully succeeding.
Deeply entrenched forces began plotting to undermine and manipulate the new administration by keeping Najib Mikati as prime minister. Meanwhile, other factions proposed Fouad Makhzoumi, a man of the past. Then, reformist deputy Ibrahim Mneimneh made his move, and it would prove to be decisive. Nominating himself for the premiership, he rejected the false dichotomy of a man who would cover for illegal arms and an arms dealer. His move intended to launch a battle for a third option, a towering political and academic figure, Nawaf Salam, the President of the International Court of Justice. If Mneimneh had not made this play, Mikati, who had already undermined (by endorsing absurd claims that limited sovereignty to the area south of the Litani River) the core of Aoun’s inaugural speech that stressed the state’s exclusive right to bear arms, would have returned.
For the first time, reformist deputies- both those who form part of the sectarian-quota-based spoil-sharing regime and those who oppose it- stood together, embodying the spirit of the October uprising. Ibrahim Mneimneh’s announcement of his willingness to withdraw in favor of Nawaf Salam sparked an implosion with the ruling coalition. Deals, whose contents will be revealed in time, imploded. Fouad Makhzoumi had no choice but to withdraw. The same parliament that had rejected both Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam walked back on its stance, and sectarian alliances broke down. On January 13, a powerful convergence of forces- chiefly driven by an overwhelming domestic desire for change in the spirit of the October uprising and the efforts of reformist deputies- ushered in a historic moment. Beirut celebrated and Lebanon rejoiced, but some faces darkened with defeat as Nawaf Salam was designated.
Known for being an advocate of the link between financial-economic and political reform, a prerequisite for the emergence of a modern and just rescuing state, he articulated a vision of a nation worthy of its youth’s ambitions. His goal is for Beirut to reclaim its status as the "mother of laws" and for Lebanon to build a state of law, turning it into a country where justice prevails, dismantling clientelism and sectarianism.
It took 123 years for the French Revolution to yield the Age of Enlightenment. Yet, after just five years, the October Revolution has borne fruit. However, monumental and imminent challenges remain. They must be overcome if we are to build foundations that will safeguard this "October victory” and ensure that it endures.