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Lebanon protests rage on as politicians stall
BEIRUT, Nov 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Demonstrators in Lebanon tried to block key
roads Monday after a weekend of mass rallies confirmed that political
promises had failed to extinguish the unprecedented protest movement.
Nationwide cross-sectarian rallies have gripped Lebanon since October 17,
demanding a complete overhaul of a political system deemed inefficient and
corrupt.
The movement forced the government to resign last week and has spurred a
raft of promises from political leaders, who have vowed to enact serious
reforms to combat corruption.
But on Monday demonstrators battled on, vowing to keep up their street
movement until all their demands are met, including the formation of a
technocratic government.
“The people in power are not serious” about forming a new government, said
Aadi, a 30-year-old demonstrator blocking a road that connects the capital to
the southern city of Sidon.
“They think we are playing here.”
In a now almost daily game of cat-and-mouse with riot police, increasingly
organised protesters erected temporary road blocks using dumpsters and parked
vehicles.
In the capital Beirut, they sat cross-legged on a key flyover and gathered
near the Central Bank, which protesters blame for fuelling Lebanon’s economic
crisis.
Schools had been due to reopen on Monday after weeks of sporadic closures,
but some remained shuttered as much of the country was on partial lockdown
for a third Monday.
– ‘New blood’ –
Lebanon’s under-fire political class has repeatedly warned against the
chaos a government resignation would cause, but they have yet to make
progress on appointing a replacement.
President Michel Aoun has asked the outgoing government to stay on in a
caretaker capacity until a new one can be formed, but Lebanon has entered a
phase of acute political uncertainty, even by its own dysfunctional
standards.
With a power-sharing system organised along communal and sectarian lines,
the allocation of ministerial posts can typically take months, a delay
demonstrators say the country can ill afford.
“The people and the politicians are living on two different clouds,” said
Steven, a 34-year-old from the Bekaa Valley who was blocking a key flyover in
Beirut.
“The president hasn’t even called on parliament to discuss the formation of
a new government,” he added.
“Nobody is listening to us.”
Consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs were expected
to begin on Tuesday — one week after the government’s resignation.
They are to look into who would lead the next government as well as the
distribution of cabinet posts among established parties and independents.
Yusef Fadel, a demonstrator in central Beirut, ruled out the possibility
that the next government would include members of established parties.
“I reiterate, we are demanding a technocratic government and not a techno-
partisan one,” said the 25-year-old who holds a masters degree in finance but
remains unemployed.
“We need new blood.”
– Cross-sectarian –
Lebanon’s largely sectarian political parties have been flat-footed by the
cross-communal nature of the demonstrations.
Waving Lebanese national flags rather than the partisan colours normally
paraded at demonstrations, protesters have been demanding the resignation of
all of Lebanon’s political leaders.
Such was the scene on Sunday, when tens of thousands took to the streets
across the country.
“All of them means all of them,” they chanted, calling for political
leaders from all sectarian stripes to step down.
Draped in white sheets, three demonstrators staged a mock execution of the
grievances that pushed them down into the street.
Nooses around their limp necks, they bore signs referring to corruption,
sectarianism, and the 1975-1990 civil war.
Sunday’s mobilisation followed a large rally organised by Aoun supporters
in front of the presidential palace.
Aoun’s supporters said they backed the overall demands of anti-graft
protesters, but insisted the president was the only man able to bring about
reforms.
The president has said the members of the next government should be picked
on merit, not political affiliation, seemingly endorsing protester demands
for a technocratic government.
On Sunday, he urged the Lebanese to rally behind a roadmap to tackle
corruption, redress the economy, and put together a civil government.
But he is also thought to be insisting on keeping his son-in-law Gebran
Bassil, who is Lebanon’s foreign minister and one of the most reviled figures
among protesters, in government.
BSS/AFP/RY/1715 hrs