Barricades Burn on Lebanon's Streets as Protesters Demand 'Downfall' of Political Class
SOURCE: CNN
BY: TAMARA QIBLAWI
Beirut, Lebanon (CNN)Plumes of smoke billowed over the Lebanese capital Beirut as nation-wide economic protests entered a second day and protesters burned barricades on the country’s main roads.
Demonstrations engulfed various parts of Lebanon on Friday. Many protesters called for the resignation of the government and demanded the “downfall” of a political class that has ruled the country since the start of its 15-year civil war in 1975. Demonstrators also took aim at the political alliance between President Michel Aoun and Shia armed group Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to address the nation on Friday afternoon.
Many of the main routes in the Lebanese capital were closed by blazing barricades, with the sidewalks strewn with trash as protesters filled the streets. Roads leading to the airport were closed for a second time on Friday.
The unrest began on Thursday night, hours after the government announced new austerity measures, including a tax on WhatsApp calls that was later rescinded.
‘We tried to be well behaved. None of it worked’
“The country needs to be paralyzed,” said protester Hady Omar who lit up one of the barricades that closed a road leading to central Beirut from the south. “We tried to protest peacefully. We tried to be well behaved. None of it worked.
“Either we all live peacefully, or no one does,” said Omar.
Protester Msheimish Msheimish was carrying his six-month-old daughter outside government headquarters on Friday when he leaned over an army barrier to speak to a soldier. “I told him we need the military to take over,” Msheimish, 37, told CNN.
“I’m tired. I can’t make ends meet,” he said. “And I brought my daughter here so she can witness this and hopefully we can tell her about it someday.”
Several other protesters called for a military takeover to remove a political ruling class that many view as incompetent and corrupt. Others have called for a technocratic government to be installed.
“We’ve come down to the streets to say enough. We’re disgusted. We’re tired of this. We need something new,” said Haneen Murad, 30, who was part of the demonstrations in downtown Beirut.
“We have no electricity, no water. We’re even less than a third-world country,” protester Ali Saraeb said. “It’s time for everyone to go down to the streets.”
Largest protests since 2015
Security forces clashed with protesters outside government HQ in downtown Beirut in the early hours of Friday morning.
Two foreign workers died from smoke inhalation from the protest fires, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Sixty members of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) were wounded in the protests, the ISF said in a tweet. The ISF called on protesters to refrain from “chaos and violence.”
The demonstrations are the largest the country has seen since a 2015 trash crisis sparked large-scale protests in Beirut. The country has grappled with growing inflation, stagnant economic growth and ballooning debt. Lebanon’s decaying infrastructure, which includes long and frequent power outages, has meant that living standards have dropped for many Lebanese.
Around a third of Lebanon’s population lives under the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
Lebanon’s lira, which is pegged to the US dollar, has also come under increasing pressure.
Hariri heads a national unity government that includes members of Hezbollah and its Christian allies, the Free Patriotic Movement.
Ali Damoush, Vice President of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, said during Friday prayers that the protests reflected the experiences of many people.
“We have always warned that the wrong economic policies and the imposition of more taxes and burdens on citizens will lead to a popular explosion,” Damoush said. “People have reached a difficult stage and no longer have the ability to withstand further deterioration in the living situation.”
The government has sought to approve a 2020 budget, which could allow billions of dollars in international donor pledges to be granted to Lebanon.
Iraq and Egypt have also been gripped by protests over alleged government mismanagement in recent weeks.