Lebanon’s roads reopen but political crisis stays
President asks Hariri to head caretaker cabinet; no alternative seen to replace outgoing PM; main roads reopen as forces try to restore normalcy; banks remain closed
Lebanon’s president on Wednesday acknowledged the government’s resignation following almost two weeks of unprecedented protests but asked it to stay on until a new cabinet is formed.
Michel Aoun “asked the government to continue to conduct affairs until a new cabinet is formed”, his office said in a statement.
He said the measure followed the constitutional provision for cases in which the government steps down.
Aoun said recent events had “opened the door to significant reform,” but people would return to the streets if obstacles were placed in the way of the formation of a “clean government.”
There is no obvious alternative to Hariri as prime minister, a post reserved for a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system.
Hariri is ready to return as prime minister of a new Lebanese government, a senior official familiar with his thinking said, on condition it includes technocrats and can quickly implement reforms to stave off economic collapse.
Hariri’s resignation on Tuesday let a political vacuum at a moment of acute crisis, with reforms urgently needed to ward off even deeper financial problems in one of the world’s most heavily indebted states.
Ater two weeks of anti-government protests largely subsided following Hariri’s announcement, main roads in Lebanon reopened on Wednesday as security forces sought to restore a semblance of normality.
Banks remained closed for an 11th working day but the Association of Lebanese Banks said they would resume normal operations and receive customers on Friday.
Hariri resigned ater massive protests against the political elite, accused by demonstrators of overseeing rampant state corruption, saying he had hit a “dead end” in trying to resolve the crisis.
The senior official, who declined to be identified, said any new cabinet led by Hariri should not include a group of top-tier politicians who were in the outgoing coalition government, without naming them.
The cabinet comprised top representatives of most of Lebanon’s sectarian parties, among them foreign minister Gebran Bassil of the
Christian Free Patriotic Movement, a prominent target of protesters.
Bassil is a political ally of the powerful Iranian-backed Shi’ite group Hizbollah, which had opposed the government’s resignation and has yet to comment on the departure of Hariri, a long-time opponent of the group.
The banks had publicly raised security fears as the reason for their closure. Bankers and analysts have also cited concern about a rush by savers to withdraw their savings or transfer them abroad once the banks reopen.
The education minister called on schools and universities to reopen on Thursday. Early on Wednesday, troops cleared one major route north of Beirut ater briefly scuffling with demonstrators.
The Ring Bridge in the centre of the capital opened ater negotiations with some protesters who did not want to leave, saying they wanted more of the authorities to resign.
Many protesters stayed on, but did not block the whole road.
In a statement, the army command said people had a right to protest, but that applied “in public squares only.”
The main protest camp in a square in the centre of the capital was quiet but was closed to traffic by security forces.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iraqis and Lebanese on Wednesday to seek their demands within the framework of the law ater waves of protests rocked the two countries.
“The people of Iraq and Lebanon have some demands that are rightful, but they should know these demands can only be realised within the legal frameworks,” he said in remarks aired on state television.
“The enemy wants to disrupt the legal framework. When in a country there is no legal framework and a vacuum is created, no positive action can be taken,” he added.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the formation of a new government responsive to the needs of the people.
“The Lebanese people want an efficient and effective government, economic reform, and an end to endemic corruption,” he said.