The protest does not disarm in Lebanon, beset by a protest movement which entered its fourth month and denouncing a serious economic crisis and a political class accused of corruption and incompetence. Hundreds of people demonstrated again in the country on Friday January 17.
Despite the arrests and nocturnal violence of the previous days, hundreds of protesters gathered in the evening in Beirut near the parliament and the central bank, which they consider partly responsible for the economic crisis which is undermining the country.
Lebanon is collapsing under a debt of around 90 billion dollars (81 billion euros), more than 150% of its GDP, and the World Bank warned in November that the poverty rate could reach 50% of the population, against a third at present.
Earlier today, cars were parked early in the morning across the road on a highway bridge overlooking downtown Beirut. "We blocked the road with cars because it is something they cannot take awaysays Maroun Karam, a protester. We don't want a government of politicians "masked”(In technocrats). "
Leaning against his car, Carlos Yammine, 32, says he refuses a "Cake sharing" between traditional parties for the formation of government. "We have been calling for a reduced, transitional, emergency government with independent people from the start of the movement", he added.
The protest movement, launched on October 17, claims a cabinet of independent specialists in the political harem, a claim defended by the new Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who however admitted to undergoing 'Pressure' from the parties that supported his nomination.
"Unacceptable level of violence"
Diab was appointed on December 19 after Saad Hariri resigned in late October, under pressure from the street. The protest was revived this week, after a period of exhaustion, to denounce the delay taken by the new Prime Minister in the formation of a new government.
Tuesday and Wednesday, the capital was the scene of nocturnal violence marked by acts of vandalism against several banks and clashes between demonstrators and police. In 48 hours, at least 100 protesters have been arrested, lawyers said on Thursday. The vast majority of those arrested were released on Thursday.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced the arrests and the use of force by law enforcement officials. "The unacceptable level of violence on January 15 against the overwhelmingly peaceful protesters requires an independent and transparent investigation"said Joe Stork, deputy director for the Middle East of the human rights organization, on Friday.
Elsewhere in the country, roads were blocked on Friday in several regions, including Tripoli (north) and the northern suburbs of Beirut, some of which were reopened by law enforcement, local media said. Demonstrations also took place in Tire in the south.