Lebanon slips deeper into turmoil

No sign of new government

BEIRUT — Protesters barricaded main roads across Lebanon on Wednesday after President Michel Aoun enraged demonstrators by urging them to end their revolt against corruption and cronyism in the political establishment.

His remarks in a television interview late on Tuesday ignited demonstrations overnight in which a protester was shot and killed after an altercation with Lebanese soldiers at a roadblock south of Beirut.

The killing marked a bloody twist to the crisis that has gripped Lebanon for nearly a month, heightening tensions in a country trapped in a deep political and economic crisis.

The man was a follower of Walid Jumblatt, a veteran Druze politician and former civil war militia leader, who has urged his supporters to remain calm.

Protesters said Aoun’s comments, including a warning that the revolt risked “catastrophe”, showed leaders were out of touch.

“It is as if they are detached from reality, as if the people have no opinion, no voice,” said Marwan al-Amine, one of dozens of protesters gathering near the presidential palace.

In a remark widely understood to mean that Aoun was telling protesters to emigrate if they didn’t like how the country was run, the president said that if decent people could not be found to lead the protest movement they should leave the country.

A 33-year-old protester, Linda Boulos Mikari, blocking a road in Beirut’s Nahr al-Kalb area, said Aoun had talked to the protesters as if they were children. “Respect us a little,” she said. “Respect this people sleeping in the streets for a month.”

Schools and banks were closed for a second straight day. They have been shut for much of the four weeks since the start of the protests against political leaders seen as venal and unable to rescue Lebanon from rising poverty and unemployment.

One banker said all transfers were frozen for now.

“The reaction (to Aoun) was very spontaneous. People felt we have to ramp up the pressure ... We will not stop,” said Joelle Petrakian, protesting at a blocked highway in central Beirut.

Several dozen protesters watched by troops and police sat blocking the normally busy road. Nearby lay smouldering debris ignited during protests overnight triggered by Aoun’s remarks.

In his interview, Aoun indicated there was no breakthrough in talks over forming a new government to replace Saad al-Hariri’s coalition cabinet. Hariri, who quit on Oct. 29, was hesitant about being prime minister again, he said.

Aoun also said a purely technocratic government, as demanded by many protesters, would not be able to govern Lebanon and so it should include politicians.

Addressing protesters in his interview, he said, “If you continue in this way, you will strike Lebanon and your interests ... If they keep going, there is a catastrophe.”

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri called the head of the army and the police and stressed the need to protect citizens and ensure the safety of the protesters.