Hundreds of thousands of mourners attended the funeral of slain Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, who was the sixth anti-Syrian politician in Lebanon to be a a inated in the last two years. The funeral became a raucous political demo tration in su ort of the government, which has been under pre ure from the pro-Syrian o osition. VOA Corre ondent Challi McDonough was at the funeral in central Beirut, and has this report.
The patriarch of Lebanon's Maronite Christian church presided over a solemn and traditional funeral service in St. George's Cathedral, where Pierre Gemayel's coffin was draped in the flag of his Phalange party.
But with hundreds of thousands of people ma ing outside in Martyr's Square, the day quickly tra formed into a defiant, angry political rally in su ort of Lebanon's anti-Syrian ruling coalition.
The crowd heaped scorn on Syria's president and his Lebanese allies, e ecially Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.
"Lahoud is a killer," he screamed. "We want him to get out from Baabda [the presidential palace]!"
A woman named Julia, with a Phalange flag draped over her shoulders, said what Lebanon needs before anything else is justice - and a new president.
"But the president needs to step down," said Julia. "I think he needs to be arrested. This is what should ha en. He needs to be arrested."
Many of the mourners blame Syria and its allies, not just for Gemayel's a a ination on Tuesday, but also for five earlier killings of anti-Syrian politicia over the last two years. Syria has denied it had any role in those attacks.
A man named Khalil stood with a small group of friends, all wearing hats from the Christian group called the Lebanese Forces.
He says, "I wish the Lebanese people could come together for weddings and ha y occasio , but unfortunately we come together on days like this, to bury people."
Martyr's Square was a sea of red, white and green Lebanese flags, waving alongside ba ers from several different Christian factio and the main Druze party. Muslims and Christia stood side-by-side.
A woman named Amal Jaffan, wearing a black-and-white Muslim headscarf, held photos of both Pierre Gemayel and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, two slain politicia , one Christian, the other Muslim.
"The two died for the same reason. That's why," said Amal Jaffan.
She said the a a i are trying to destroy Lebanon's sovereignty and kill off its independent leaders. And she recalled that, not too long ago, Lebanon's Christia and Muslims were mortal enemies.
"But now, we are all together, Christian, Muslim, everyone, because we have to su ort our country," she said.
Political representatives of pro-Syrian factio were noticeably a ent. The parliamentary eaker, Nabih Berry of the Shi'ite Amal party, attended the funeral, but leaders of Hezbollah, which has broad Shi'ite su ort, stayed away, as did their Christian ally, General Michel Aoun.
Those pro-Syrian factio have been demanding the government's resignation, and their six Cabinet ministers have walked out. The o osition's promised street protests were delayed after Gemayel was killed. But sectarian te io are higher now than they have been since the end of Lebanon's vicious 14-year civil war.
In a series of political eeches after the funeral service, the leaders of the anti-Syrian March 14 movement rallied su orters, and vowed that their government will not only survive, but thrive. The politicia , including Rafik Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Pierre Gemayel's father, former President Amin Gemayel, renewed their calls for an international court to investigate Lebanon's political a a inatio .
After the funeral, in the mountai east of Beirut, Pierre Gemayel's body was laid to rest in his home village of Bikfaya.
The race was in 1901, at a field near Detroit. All of the most famous cars had entered. And all withdrew, except two. The Winton. And Ford's. The Winton was famous for its eed. Most people thought the race was over before it began.
The Winton took an early lead. But halfway through the race, it began to lose power. Ford started to gain. And near the end of the race, he took the lead. Ford won the race and defeated the champion. His name a eared in new apers. His fame began to read.
VOICE ONE:
Within weeks of the race, Henry Ford formed a new automobile company. He left soon after, however, because he could not agree with the investors. He had no trouble finding new ones.
Henry continued to build racing cars. His most famous cars of the time were the "Arrow" and the "Nine Ninety-Nine. " Both won races. And they helped make the name Henry Ford more famous.
Henry used what he learned from racing to develop a better engine. In 1903, he was ready to start building cars for the public. On July 15, 1903, a man named Doctor Pfe ing bought the first car from the Ford Motor Company.
VOICE TWO:
The sale to Doctor Pfe ing was the begi ing of a huge number of requests for Ford cars. By the end of March, 1904, almost600 Ford cars had been sold. The company had earned almost one hundred thousand dollars. Sales were so great that a new factory had to be found.
At the start of 1905, the Ford Motor Company was producing25 cars each day. It employed 300 men. The company produced several kinds of cars. First there was the "Model A. " Then there were the "Model B," "Model C" and "Model F. " They were just a little different from the "Model A" -- one of Ford's most famous cars.
Ford's "Model K" car was for wealthy buyers. One of the company's investors was sure the future of the automobile industry was in this costly car. Henry Ford did not agree. He was sure the future of the automobile industry was in a low-priced car for the general public. He said then, and many times after, "I want to make a car that anybody can buy. "
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VOICE TWO:
These conflicting beliefs led to a battle for control of the company. In the end, Henry bought the stock of the investors who wanted to make costly cars. He was then free to make the low-cost car he believed in.
The story shows the way Henry's mind worked. When he thought he was correct, he was willing to invest his efforts and his money. Earlier, he had walked away from the busine of making cars when he could not control the busine . Now he had the money to buy the stock of those who disagreed with him.
VOICE ONE:
In 1907, Henry Ford said: "I will build a motor car for the great ma of people. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for one person to operate and care for. It will be built of the best materials. It will be built by the best men to be employed. And it will be built with the simplest pla that modern engineering can produce. It will be so low in price that no man making good money will be unable to own one. "
That was what Henry Ford wanted. To reach his goal, his life took many interesting tur . That will be our story next week.
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VOICE TWO:
You have been listening to the ecial English program People in America. Your narrators were Steve Ember and Frank Oliver. Our program was written by Richard Thorman. I'm Ray Freeman.
