Revolution in the air as Lebanon’s elite face a nation united in despair
The crowds had been out in downtown Beirut for nine days straight without much trouble. They chanted: ‘‘Thawra!’’ (revolution) and: ‘‘All of them means all of them’’ – in a rejection of the entire political class.
But on Saturday, Hizbollah supporters ended that when they took exception to the protesters’ inclusion of Hassan Nasrallah, the Shia group’s chief, seen as both a political and religious leader and beyond recrimination.
The hundreds of supporters, who had come out to listen to a speech from Nasrallah warning of the potential for chaos, threw rocks and flags and tried to drown out the chants.
They were quickly pushed back by the police and booed out of the square.
But the brief skirmish reflects how unnerved Lebanon’s leaders are by a movement that rejects the entrenched sectarian power structures.
‘‘We will not allow them to hijack the revolution,’’ said one woman. ‘‘These men over there starting problems don’t know what is to suffer, to want for water, electricity; the simple things.’’
The unrest began last week over a plan to tax messaging service Whats App but has transformed into a denunciation of the ‘‘corrupt’’ ruling elite.
What is remarkable is how the protests have united people of all kinds in Lebanon, where government is divided among 18 recognised sects.
‘‘When you can’t afford bread, it doesn’t matter if you’re Maronite, Sunni, Druze or Shia,’’ read one banner. ‘‘Protesters have made it clear this movement has united regions and sects and classes. This show of unity is a huge threat to the political class,’’ said Samah Hadid, a Beirut-based human rights advocate.
A cartoon of a gravestone headed with the words ‘‘Civil war: 1975-2019’’ by illustrator Bernard Hage has been widely shared online.
‘‘We talk about the civil war that ended here in the Nineties, but it only turned into a cold war that has been going on ever since,’’ Hage said. ‘‘Today, we the people, officially ended it by uniting in the streets.’’
Exactly 30 years ago, Lebanon’s Parliament signed the Taif Accord, vowing to abolish sectarianism. But politicians have continued to utilise sectarian identity to divide civil society.
– Telegraph Group