ZCZC
BFF-32
LEBANON-POLITICS-STUDENTS-STRIKE
Lebanese banks, schools shut as protesters push on
BEIRUT, Nov 12, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Banks and schools were closed in Lebanon
on Tuesday as protesters tried to prevent employees from clocking in at state
institutions nearly one month into an anti-graft street movement.
Unprecedented protests erupted across Lebanon on October 17, demanding the
ouster of a generation of politicians seen by demonstrators as inefficient
and corrupt.
The government stepped down on October 29 but it remains in a caretaker
capacity as no overt efforts have been made to form a new one.
Dozens of protesters gathered near the Palace of Justice in central Beirut
on Tuesday morning, demanding an independent judiciary as they tried to
prevent judges and lawyers from going to work, an AFP correspondent said.
In the town of Aley east of Beirut, in the southern city of Tyre, and the
eastern town of Baalbek, demonstrators held sit-ins outside or inside the
offices of the state telecommunications provider, local media reported.
Many schools and universities were closed, as were banks after their
employees called for a general strike over alleged mistreatment by customers
last week. Banks have restricted access to dollars since the start of the
protests, sparking fears of the devaluation of the local currency and
discontent among account holders.
The central bank on Monday however insisted the Lebanese pound would
remain pegged to the dollar and said it had asked banks to lift restrictions
on withdrawals.
Students, who have emerged as key players in the uprising, were expected
to hold further demonstrations later in the day ahead of a presidential
address in the evening.
The leaderless protest movement first erupted after a proposed tax on
calls via free phone applications, but it has since morphed into an
unprecedented cross-sectarian outcry against everything from perceived state
corruption to rampant electricity cuts.
People in the street say they are fed up with the same political families
dominating government institutions since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
Protesters are demanding a fresh cabinet include independent experts not
affiliated to traditional political parties, but no date has yet been set for
required parliamentary consultations.
Government formation typically takes months in Lebanon, with protracted
debate on how to best maintain a fragile balance between religious
communities.
The World Bank says around a third of Lebanese live in poverty, and has
warned the country’s struggling economy could further deteriorate if a new
cabinet is not formed rapidly.
BSS/AFP/RY/1632 hrs