Beirut: demonstrators already present in Martyrs' Square

(ANSA) - BEIRUT, 08 AUG - Although there are still several hours to go to the official start, scheduled for 4 pm local time (3 pm in Italy), many people are already gathering on Martyrs' Square in Beirut in view of the demonstration organized by various groups of activists to protest against the inefficiency and corruption of the political system after Tuesday's gigantic explosion that devastated several neighborhoods.
    There is already an air of tension in the square, after the protests of recent days that have led among other things to clashes between demonstrators and police in front of Parliament in the night between Thursday and Friday. In the large space, already the scene of several mass rallies since last October to protect against the disastrous economic crisis, gazebos have been set up and photographs of many of the victims have been glued to the base of the monument to the martyrs.
    Yesterday activists of various protest committees drove the streets of the semi-destroyed neighborhoods launching appeals with megaphones and distributing leaflets to call citizens to participate en masse in the odious demonstration. (HANDLE).