(AGI) - Beirut, 23 nov. - Life returned to normal Monday acrossLebanon after thousands of people took to the streets Sunday inseparate marches and rallies to mark Lebanon's 72ndIndependence Day, since ceremonies were cancelled for thesecond consecutive year over the absence of a president. The longest march was organized by NGO "Offre Joie" (Joy ofGiving), which took participants from around the PresidentialPalace in east Beirut to the main street next to themunicipality of Beirut in the capital's central district. "Our true independence is not just a day on the calendar.It's a commitment to our country and patriotism. We reject thevacuum hitting state posts," Melhem Khalaf, president of "OffreJoie", told. The march, which got underway at 10 am, wasattended by clerics, lawyers with the NGO "Legal Agenda",members of civil society groups, the Union CoordinationCommittee, and various scout associations. Participants marchedunder the slogan "Our Independence is our peace... OurIndependence is Our Lebanon," and only held Lebanese flags. ALebanese Army marching band also took part in the march. Separately, hundreds of people also joined a marchorganized by the "We Want Accountability" activist group fromBeirut's Mathaf area toward Downtown Beirut's Martyrs' Square,holding Lebanese flags and white flowers. "We WantAccountability"'s most vocal member Nehmat Badreddinecomplained of what she said was "foreign interference inLebanon's affairs". "We want to have our own independence awayfrom foreign interference in our political life and economy,"she told. "The only breakthrough for these crises is by stagingtrue and transparent parliamentary elections", she added.Families of Lebanese who went missing during Lebanon's1975-1990 Civil War also took part in the rallies. "We areLebanese citizens and we are saddened by the situation inLebanon. We are trying to become a part of the civil societymovements," Wadad Halwani, the head of the Committee of theFamilies of the Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon. The lebanese Parliament has not been able to convene inorder to elect a new president due since 25 May 2014. The mainreason is the internal political crisis related to Sunni andShia split over syrian crisis. (AGI).