• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Lebanon’s Anti-Government Protests Rage on as Politicians Stall

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
11/04/19
in Featured, World
Lebanese demonstrators wave national flags as they take part in a rally in the capital Beirut's downtown district on October 20, 2019. Photo: AFP

Lebanese demonstrators wave national flags as they take part in a rally in the capital Beirut's downtown district on October 20, 2019. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Demonstrators in Lebanon blocked key roads and prevented some public institutions from opening Monday after mass rallies showed 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 Sidon, protesters gathered in front of public institutions and banks to prevent them from opening, an AFP reporter said.

Another reporter saw similar scenes in the northern city of Tripoli.

In a now almost daily game of cat-and-mouse with riot police, increasingly organized protesters erected temporary roadblocks 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 after weeks of sporadic closures, but some remained shuttered as much of the country was on partial lockdown for a third Monday.

As night fell, demonstrators thronged protest sites in Beirut, Tripoli and Sidon as they have most evenings.

‘Nobody is Listening to Us’

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 is formed, but Lebanon has entered a phase of acute political uncertainty, even by its own dysfunctional standards.

With a power-sharing system organized along sectarian lines, the allocation of ministerial posts can typically take months, a delay demonstrators find unacceptable.

“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.”

One week after the government’s resignation, there had still been no consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs.

These are to look into who would lead the next government, as well as the distribution of cabinet posts.

But on Monday afternoon, outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri met his Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, in their first such encounter since the protest movement, local media reported, without giving details.

Bassil, who is also Aoun’s son-in-law, is one of the most reviled figures among protesters.

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.”

On Monday, Aoun called for dialogue with “protesters to reach an understanding,” and said fighting corruption was a priority.

“The investigation will include all officials, of all ranks, in all administrations,” he said on Twitter.

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 colors 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 mobilization followed a large rally organized 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 Bassil in government.


More on the Subject 

Lebanon Reopens But Crisis Remains After PM Resigns

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Rescuers sift through the rubble at the scene of an Israeli strike that targets Beirut's southern suburbs
National

Ceasefire Begins in Israel-Hezbollah War

by Staff Writer with AFP
November 26, 2024
A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station
Opinion

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

by Sara Harmouch
May 18, 2022
Beirut port after the August 4 explosion.
Middle East

Hundreds March in Lebanon to Mark Anniversary of Protests

by Staff Writer
October 17, 2020
Lebanese woman opening empty fridge.
Middle East

Half of Lebanese Could Face Food Shortages: UN

by Staff Writer
August 31, 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron visit the Gemmayzeh neighborhood in Beirut on August 6, 2020. Photo: AFP.
Middle East

Macron Visits Lebanon in Wake of Blasts, Urges Systemic Political Change

by Jonah Fox
August 6, 2020
Right-wing Bolivian Senator Jeanine Anez declared herself interim president following a coup that ousted Evo Morales
World

Thousands in Bolivia Defy Quarantine Restrictions in Anti-Government Protest

by Staff Writer
July 15, 2020
Next Post
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani giving a speech in the southern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar

Iran to Resume Enrichment in Latest Effort to Pressure Europe for Sanction Relief

President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 28, 2019

As Clock Tics on Climate Action, US Formally Starts Pullout from Paris Accord

Recommended

An Iranian protester

Iran’s Nuclear Program: From Its Origins to Today’s Dispute

June 23, 2025
Protesters and police clash during the “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 2025.

US Appeals Court Allows Trump Control of National Guard in LA

June 20, 2025
Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the sky over Beirut, Lebanon, on June 14, 2025. Iran launched multiple missiles toward Israeli targets, triggering interception attempts above several regional capitals, including Beirut.

Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
An Iranian walking in front of a wall painting of the Iranian flag in Tehran

How Much Damage Has Israel Inflicted on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

June 16, 2025

Opinion

Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post