Thousands gather in Hariri146;s memory

At exactly 12:55 pm 8212; the time of the explosion that killed Hariri and 22 others8212; the crowd fell silent except for a muezzin making the Islamic call to prayer and the tolling of a church bell. Standing at the podium, Hariri8217;s son, Saad, and sister, Bahiya, prayed.

The speakers addressed the crowd from behind bulletproof glass, calling for approval of a UN-created tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri assassination.

Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, praised the late Hariri in a letter published on the front page of As-Safir newspaper on Wednesday. Finding the perpetrators has become 8220;a collective national demand,8221; Nasrallah wrote.

8211;SAM F GHATTAS