NO FACTION SPARED AS PUBLIC ANGER SWEEPS OVER LEBANON
▶ Protesters take to streets for third day to target politicians of all groups – calling on Hariri government to step down
Lebanon entered a third day of mass anti-government protests yesterday, as anger fuelled by an economic crisis erupted across the country and descended into riots on the streets of Beirut.
Small groups of demonstrators gathered in the centre of the capital early in the day, as fires still smouldered around the shopfronts of banks and upmarket retailers in the Beirut’s commercial district from the night before. The number of protesters swelled in the evening.
The protesters have been on the streets since Thursday, calling for the government to step down and condemning its plan for additional taxes on a populace already battered by a weak economy.
Lebanon’s finance minister Ali Hasan Khalil said in a tweet yesterday that after a meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri they had agreed on a final budget that did not include any new taxes or fees. The Cabinet was planning to meet today after cancelling a meeting on Friday because of the protests, according to government sources.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shiite militia Hezbollah, said earlier yesterday that new taxes proposed to solve the country’s economic crisis would lead to a “popular uprising”.
He said the group was not demanding the government’s resignation amid widespread national protests.
In a televised speech, Nasrallah said that he supported the government, but called for a new agenda and said any tax imposed on the poor would push him to call supporters to take to the streets.
On Friday, security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets as they chased down protesters in Beirut after tens of thousands of people across Lebanon marched to demand the ousting of a political elite they accuse of looting the economy.
The Internal Security Forces said 70 were arrested on Friday on charges of theft and arson. But all of those held at the main police barracks were released yesterday, the National News Agency said.
Dozens of people were wounded, with riot police also making several arrests.
Prime Minister Hariri blamed his partners in government for obstructing reforms that could ward off an economic crisis. He gave them a 72-hour deadline to stop blocking him and hinted that he could resign.
But the protests have continued to swell. By yesterday afternoon, a couple of thousand had gathered, chanting against all politicians.
“The people want to bring down the regime,” was the refrain, as protesters carrying the Lebanese flag marched towards a security barricade with piles of barbed wire outside the government offices in central Beirut.
“Thieves, thieves,” they also
chanted while naming almost every senior Lebanese politician, demanding they step down. After Nasrallah’s speech, they chanted: “All of them, and Nasrallah is one of them.”
During the protest in central Beirut on Friday night some demonstrators went on a rampage, smashing shop windows. Some also threw water bottles and fireworks at the security forces, which responded with tear gas and water cannons. Dozens were arrested.
Yesterday, Lebanese Al Jadeed TV said protests in the southern city of Tyre turned violent when supporters of the longtime Parliament speaker attacked other protesters who had named him among those corrupt officials who should step down. The channel said it had withdrawn its team from the city because of the violence. Nasrallah told protesters their message had been heard and was successful because it was a spontaneous expression of social anger. But he warned them against being pulled into political rivalries, saying that would derail their message.
Nasrallah said politicians couldn’t shirk their responsibilities by quitting the Cabinet while the economy crumbled. Those who do so should be brought to trial, he said, in an attack on his rivals in the government.
The protests are the largest Lebanon has seen since 2015. They could further destabilise a country whose economy is already on the verge of collapse.
Lebanon has the third-highest debt level in the world, currently standing at about $86 billion, or 150 per cent of its gross domestic product.
International donors say Lebanon must make economic changes to receive loans and grants pledged at the CEDRE economic conference in Paris in April last year.
They have pledged $11bn but have sought to ensure it is well spent in the corruption-plagued country.
Several Arab states called on their citizens to avoid travelling to Lebanon because of the mass protests, in which thousands have rallied across the country. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation warned UAE citizens not to travel to the country until further notice
Khalid Belhoul, under secretary in the ministry, advised Emiratis in Lebanon to contact the UAE Embassy in Beirut to arrange their safe return home.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry told its citizens on Friday not to travel to Lebanon and advised those already there to be extremely cautious.