Mrs. Nazek Rafic Hariri received the qualifying cup of Beirut’s Racing sports club in tribute to assassinated Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, who had supported it in Beirut’s district of Achrafieh. The club has qualified to first class status. A large delegation of its members led by MP Michel Pharaon met Mrs. Hariri in Koreitem, in the presence of Achrafieh’s councilor Mr. Robert Memari.
Mrs. Hariri hailed the Racing Club’s qualification from second to first class, and asked its members to help bolster national unity and pursue the political, charitable and social legacy of the murdered leader. She highlighted the late Prime Minister’s commitment to social services, especially medical and educational, citing the large number of charitable organizations that he established. The slain Premier’s wife vowed to follow his track, alongside Mr. Saadeddine Hariri and all the candidates on Beirut’s three electoral lists for parliamentary elections. She called for a massive turnout in May 29 elections and work hard to deserve Lebanon and to believe in its prosperous future.
Addressing the ceremony, MP Pharaon warned against attempts to derail legislative polls by calls to boycot the election, but stressed that this will never happen due to the announcement of Mr. Hariri’s electoral coalition, as well as the efforts of Mrs. Hariri and Mr. Saadeddine. He dubbed the elections, a ballot of independence, freedom, sovereignty, democracy and moderation. MP Pharaon hailed the murdered leader as a man of moderation, liberties, and national unity. He also recalled his backing of the Racing Club, which after 170 years since its foundation, regained its first class category because of the murdered Premier’s support.
For his part, Achrafieh’s local councilor, Mr. Memari, told the gathering, the martyred leader played a leading role in reviving the Club, and presented Mrs. Hariri with its cup and a shield of honor as a tribute to the late Premier, whose martyrdom liberated and united Lebanon.