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Lebanon paralysed by 'WhatsApp tax' protests Violence flares in Lebanon as protesters tell their leaders to go
(about 8 hours later)
Nationwide protests have paralysed Lebanon as demonstrators blocked major roads on a second day of rallies against the government’s handling of a severe economic crisis. Security forces fired teargas and chased down protesters in Beirut on Friday after tens of thousands of people across Lebanon marched to demand the demise of a political elite they accuse of looting the economy to the point of collapse.
The protests, the largest since 2015, could further destabilise a country whose economy is already on the verge of collapse and carries one of the highest debt loads in the world. Riot police in vehicles and on foot rounded up protesters, according to Reuters. They fired rubber bullets and teargas canisters, dispersing demonstrators in Beirut’s commercial district. Dozens of people were wounded and detained.
Some of the protesters said they would remain on the streets until the government resigns. Prime minister Saad Hariri blamed his partners in government for obstructing reforms that could ward off economic crisis. He gave them a 72-hour deadline to stop blocking him, hinting he may otherwise resign.
“We are here today to ask for our rights. The country is corrupt, the garbage is all over the streets and we are fed up with all this,” said Loris Obeid, a protester in central Beirut. Hariri, addressing protesters, said Lebanon was going through an “unprecedented, difficult time”. The country’s biggest protests in a decade recall the 2011 Arab revolts which toppled four presidents. Lebanese people from all sects and walks of life have come out on to the streets to wave banners and chant slogans urging Hariri’s government to go.
The trigger for the protests was the news on Thursday that the government was planning, among other measures, to impose a tax on WhatsApp calls – a decision it later withdrew. The rallies follow warnings by economists and investors that Lebanon’s economy and corruption-riddled financial system were closer to the brink than at any time since the wartorn 1980s.
Schools, banks and businesses shut down as the protests escalated and widened in scope to reach almost every city and province. Hundreds of people burned tyres on highways and intersections in suburbs of the capital, Beirut, and in northern and southern cities, sending up clouds of black smoke in scattered protests. “There are those who have placed obstacles in front of me … and in the face of all the efforts that I have proposed for reform,” Hariri said.
The road to Beirut’s international airport was blocked by protesters, stranding passengers, who in some cases were seen dragging suitcases on foot to reach the airport. “Whatever the solution, we no longer have time and I am personally giving myself only a little time. Either our partners in government and in the nation give a frank response to the solution, or I will have another say. The deadline left is very short. It’s 72 hours.”
Tension has been building for months as the government searched for new ways to levy taxes to manage the country’s economic crisis and soaring debt. Protesters poured through villages and towns as well as the capital, Beirut, for a second day. No political leader, Muslim or Christian, was spared their wrath. They called for leaders including Hariri, president Michel Aoun and parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, to step down.
Protesters threw stones, shoes and water bottles at security forces and in some cases set fire to buildings and smashed shop windows. Two Syrian workers died on Thursday when they were trapped in a shop that was set on fire by rioters. The mood was a mixture of rage, defiance and hope. As night fell, crowds waving Lebanese flags marched through the streets as patriotic music blared from loudspeakers. They shouted: “Our demands are one, our objective is one: the people want the downfall of the regime.”
Security forces said at least 60 of its members were injured in the clashes. Protesters were also hurt. Some protesters fainted as security forces fired teargas. The Red Cross said its teams had treated 160 people wounded in protests since Thursday evening. “You should be protecting us. Shame on you,” a young man yelled as he covered his face against the choking fumes.
Years of regional turmoil – worsened by an influx of 1.5 million Syrian refugees since 2011 – are catching up with Lebanon. The small Arab country on the Mediterranean has the third-highest debt level in the world – about £67bn – or 150% of its gross domestic product. Lebanon’s internal security apparatus said 52 police were injured on Friday and 70 people were arrested.
International donors have been demanding that Lebanon implement economic changes in order to get loans and grants pledged at an economic conference in Paris in April 2018. International donors pledged $11bn for Lebanon but they sought to ensure the money was well spent in the corruption-plagued country. Some protesters, including men in black hoods, blocked roads, set tyres on fire and used iron bars to smash storefronts in Beirut’s affluent downtown district.
Despite tens of billions of dollars spent since the 15-year civil war ended in 1990, Lebanon still has crumbling infrastructure, including daily electricity cuts, piles of rubbish in the streets and often sporadic, limited water supplies from the state-owned water company. Some streets in the capital looked like a battlefield, strewn with rubber bullets, smashed cars, broken glass and torn billboards. Firefighters struggled late into the night to douse fires.
With demonstrators crowding around Aoun’s palace in Baabda, the United Nations urged all sides to refrain from actions that could lead to more tensions and violence. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates warned their citizens against travelling to Lebanon. Bahrain told its nationals to leave at once.
Lebanon’s foreign minister, Gebran Bassil, who is Aoun’s son-in-law, also blamed other parties for blocking reforms, saying the government must work to stop corruption and avoid imposing new taxes.
The latest unrest erupted out of anger over the rising cost of living and new tax plans, including a fee on WhatsApp calls.
“We came to the streets because we can no longer bear this situation. This regime is totally corrupt,” said Fadi Issa, 51, who marched with his son. “They are all thieves, they come into the government to fill their pockets, not to serve the country.”
In an unprecedented move, Shia protesters also attacked the offices of their deputies from the influential Hezbollah and Amal movements in southern Lebanon.
To boost revenues, a government minister on Thursday unveiled a new fee for WhatsApp calls that fuelled outrage. But as the protests spread hours later, the telecoms minister, Mohamed Choucair, revoked the planned levy.
LebanonLebanon
Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
Protest
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