Lebanon Cabinet set for key talks as protests swell

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s teetering government is expected to approve a belated economic rescue plan as the nation prepared for a fifth day of mass protests against the ruling elite.

A proposed tax on mobile messaging applications last week sparked a spontaneous, cross-sectarian mobilisation that has brought Lebanon to a standstill and put the entire political class in the dock.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in central Beirut and other cities on Sunday to demand better living conditions and the ouster of a cast of politicians who have monopolised power and influence for decades.

Euphoric crowds partied deep into the night, leaving all political and sectarian paraphernalia at home to gather under the national cedar flag, dancing to impromptu concerts and chanting often hilarious anti-establishment slogans.

The economy has been on the brink of collapse for some time and the initial grievances of the protesters were over proposed tax hikes.

But the demonstrations have evolved into a massive push to unseat ruling dynasties widely seen as corrupt beyond redemption, and Hariri’s 11th-hour rescue plan was met with disdain on the street.

The Cabinet was due to meet on today and expected to approve a raft of measures, including the scrapping of new taxes and a sweeping privatisation programme, among others.

“This was not a paper suggested to get people off the street,” a senior Cabinet official insisted.

Protesters gathered in front of the government houses said the move smacked of a desperate attempt by the political class to save their jobs.

What was initially dubbed the “WhatsApp revolution” morphed into a mass non-partisan push for a total overhaul of a sectarian power system still run mostly by civil warera warlords.

Demonstrators, old and young, spoke of their joy of experiencing a rare feeling of national unity as they converged towards protest sites at the weekend.