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Lebanese Protesters Slam Aoun's Decision to Delay Talks to Pick PM, Clashes Rock Beirut for a Second Night

December 17, 2019 

Lebanese protesters in downtown Beirut, December 2019	Lebanese protesters slam President’s decision to delay talks to pick PM, December 17, 2019

Lebanese acting prime minister, Sa'd Al-Hariri and House Speaker, Nabeeh Berry, December 17, 2019

 

Berri, Hariri: Lebanese Should Be Aware in Order Not to Be Dragged into Sedition

Al-Manar TV website, December 17, 2019

Speaker Nabih Berri and Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri called Lebanese on Tuesday to be aware in order not to be dragged into sedition.

The two men warned, following a meeting in Berri’s residence in Ain El-Tineh, that many sides have been working hard to drag Lebanon into sedition.

“Sedition can’t be faced but through preserving civil peace, national unity, avoiding provocations and making room for security forces and national army to fulfil their duty.”

The statement, meanwhile, stressed the need to speed up the formation of the new government away from political tensions and in a way that favors the national interest on the personal one.

http://english.almanar.com.lb/891464

Protesters slam Aoun’s decision to delay talks to pick PM

Ya Libnan, December 17, 2019  

Lebanon has been gripped by nationwide protests for the past two months with citizens demanding reforms and changes in the political system. AFP
Protesters have decried Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s decision to postpone parliamentary consultations for the naming of a new prime minister at the request of Saad Hariri, the only candidate for the post.

The binding consultations are now delayed until Thursday in response to “(caretaker) Premier Hariri’s wish to allow for more consultations on the issue of forming the government,” the presidency said in a statement.

“We do not want any of you, including Hariri,” shouted the protesters in central Beirut.

Dozens of protesters stood near a street leading to Hariri’s residential complex in central Beirut waving Lebanese flags.

Riot police erected barbed wires fences on roads leading to the residence and formed a human barrier to prevent protesters from approaching.
“We do not trust any of you,” one protester’s placard read.

Anti-government demonstrators gathered yesterday evening to reject Hariri’s nomination, demanding that an “independent” be nominated instead.
Protesters have called for a government of technocrats rather than politicians from the ruling class, to help revive the country’s battered economy.

Lebanon has been gripped by street protests since mid-October and the economic and political turmoil there has generated Lebanon’s worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The protests prompted Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign on October 29.

According to a source close to Hariri, “the coming 72 hours will be crucial” — the former premier is still insisting on forming a government of experts.
The source said that if Hariri cannot secure his demand he is likely to say “look for another person to head the government.”

Hariri was expected to be named as premier during the consultations, which were scheduled for yesterday at the presidential palace.

Hariri’s request for postponement came after two main parliamentary blocs decided not to back him, which would have affected the number of votes he was expected to receive.The United Nations Special Co-ordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis said that the postponement is risky amid a collapsing economy.
An “investigation of the incidents as well as of use of excessive force by the security forces is necessary, also to prevent sliding down towards more aggressive and confrontational behaviour of all,” Kubis wrote in a tweet.

President Aoun was due to hold talks with various parliamentary blocs following two nights of clashes between anti-government protesters and riot police.
Clashes erupted between riot police and demonstrators in central Beirut after protesters hurled stones at police and attempted to break barriers around the parliament building.

The internal security police said in a statement that 27 police officers, along with two officers, were wounded on Sunday night. Demonstrators said dozens suffered breathing problems from the firing of tear gas as well as medium injuries from the use of excessive force by riot police.

Protesters said that the violence was carried out “by infiltrators who belong to the two the groups, Hezbollah and the Amal movement.”
According to the Lebanese constitution, the president has to consult with parliamentary blocs before he tasks a premier with forming a new government.

https://yalibnan.com/2019/12/17/protesters-slam-aouns-decision-to-delay-talks-to-pick-pm/

Clashes rock Beirut protest for second night

Ya Libnan, December 16, 2019

Tear gas engulfed central Beirut as security forces chased protesters near Lebanon’s parliament on Sunday in a second night of street clashes that wounded dozens of people.

Protesters had returned despite a fierce crackdown by security forces the night before when clashes also injured dozens.

It marked the most violent unrest in the capital in a historic wave of protests that has swept Lebanon since Oct. 17 and pushed Saad al-Hariri to resign as prime minister.

The protests erupted from anger at a political elite that has overseen decades of corruption and steered the country toward its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

“We will not leave. They are the ones who looted the country. They are the ones who got us here. We want our rights,” said Nadine Farhat, 31, a lawyer protesting on Sunday

Riot police and security forces, deploying again in large numbers, unleashed water cannons at hundreds of demonstrators who remained on the streets.

The Lebanese Civil Defense said it had treated 46 people for injuries and taken 14 others to hospital.

Lebanese security forces attack in ‘a barbaric way’

The clashes rocked a commercial district of Beirut for hours late into the night, and army soldiers closed off some roads.

Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces said they fired tear gas after demonstrators pelted them with fireworks and stones, injuring some officers. On Twitter, the ISF called on people to leave the streets.

Crowds of men and women ran for cover chanting “revolution, revolution!” as white smoke streaming out of tear gas canisters encircled them. Some hurled the canisters back at riot police standing nearby in body armour.

“They attacked us in a barbaric way, as if we’re not protesting for their sake, their children,” said a protester, Omar Abyad, 25, a nurse who has been unemployed since he graduated two years ago.

Abyad said he rallied on Sunday in part against Hariri’s potential return as prime minister, calling him one of the same faces who have long ruled the country.

Parliamentary consultations on Monday

Lebanon’s main parties have fueded over forming a new government, and Hariri is expected to be named prime minister again at formal consultations on Monday. But political rifts look set to hinder agreement on the next cabinet, which the country badly needs to ward off an even worse crisis.

Foreign donors say they will only help after there is a cabinet in place that can enact reforms.

The UN has insisted on the importance of the talks, with its Lebanon coordinator Jan Kubis urging politicians to “act responsibly”.

“Tomorrow is the moment of truth. Either politicians will show at this critical moment of deep complex crisis they understand the needs of #Lebanon and its people and help steer a peaceful way forward, or that they remain captive of their traditional habits and attitudes,” Kubis tweeted.

Economic woes

Sunday’s demonstration in Beirut began peacefully with protesters waving Lebanese flags and chanting “Hariri will not return”.

“Change needs time and patience and we will not stop until we achieve our goals and remove this regime completely,” said 23-year-old protester Carla.

“We don’t want Hariri because he is a partner in (official) corruption”, she added.

“I am opposed to Hariri returning as head of the government and I don’t understand why they can’t find anyone else,” said Nour, a pharmacist.

“There are many competent people… who are independent,” she added.

The head of the Internal Security Forces, Brigadier Imad Othman, spoke to protesters in Beirut Sunday, urging them to remain peaceful and let security forces carry out their duties unhindered.

The process of forming a government will take place as Lebanon’s debt-burdened economy has been sliding towards collapse.

The country is facing a dollar liquidity crisis, with banks limiting the withdrawal and transfer of the greenback, which has been selling for more than 2,000 Lebanese pounds on the parallel market for the first time since it was officially pegged at 1,507 in 1997.

The international community has urged a new cabinet to be formed swiftly to implement key economic reforms and unlock international aid.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday urged Lebanese leaders to push to resolve the crisis paralysing the country, warning of a “dramatic situation”.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS and AFP)

https://yalibnan.com/2019/12/16/clashes-rock-beirut-protest-for-second-night/

President Aoun: Lebanon Rejects Any Israeli Violation of Its Legitimate Rights within Its Territorial Waters

Al-Manar TV website, December 17, 2019

Source: NNA

President Michel Aoun on Tuesday met with UNIFIL commander, General Stefano Del Cole, and asked him to investigate reasons for the violation of a Greek oil exploration vessel, operating for the Israeli Army, Lebanese territorial waters for a duration of 3 hours. The President stressed that “Lebanon rejects any violation of its legitimate rights within its territorial waters”, considering that “Israeli naval violations, of Lebanese sovereignty, are no less dangerous than land and air violations, which Israel continues to carry out”.

During the meeting, which was attended by the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Salim Jreisatti, and the delegation accompanying Del Cole, President Aoun said that “Lebanon is keen to activate the existing cooperation between the Lebanese Army and the UNIFIL, in order to maintain stability, and address issues raised through dialogue and coordination”. The President appreciated the efforts exerted by the international leadership to maintain stability along the Blue Line Border, reaffirming Lebanon’s adherence to Resolution 1701.

General Del Cole informed President Aoun about the results of his visit to New York and the meeting he had held with international officials, indicating that these meetings were devoted to tackling the situation in Southern Lebanon. Del Cole had also visited Washington and met with a number of US officials and discussed with them the situation of UNIFIL, and its need for continuous funding for carrying the tasks assigned in Resolution 1701. The research also touched on the results of Lebanese-International-Israeli meeting in the Tripartite Committee, which meets periodically at the International Command headquarters, in Naqoura.

Afterwards, President Aoun telegrammed congratulations to the newly elected Algerian President, Abdul Majid Taboun, and stressed his keenness to strengthen brotherly relations between Lebanon and Algeria, and to enhance cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

http://english.almanar.com.lb/891431  

Lebanese army clashes with supporters of Hezbollah, Amal in Beirut

The Baghdad Post, December 17, 2019

Lebanese troops lobbed tear gas on Tuesday to disperse supporters of Shi’ite groups Hezbollah and Amal who tried to storm a square in Beirut in response to a video that purportedly offended Shi’ite figures, witnesses and media reports said.
 
Hundreds of youths on motorcycles waving their party and religious flags gathered in downtown Beirut chanting “Shi’ites, Shi’ites” and setting fire to tires.
 
They hurled stones and fireworks at security forces standing nearby, witnesses said. 

Ignoring calls for restraint by politicians, the youths tried to break a security cordon to storm the square where demonstrators have set up tents as part of an anti-government protest that has been going on for weeks. 

In the vicinity of the area close to a main road that links the capital’s eastern and western sections, scores of youths had burnt tires, smashed office buildings and torched several cars, live coverage by local television stations showed. 

The protesters camped in the square have been targeted by Shi’ite groups in the past angered by chants against their political leaders, although Tuesday’s violence was of an overtly sectarian nature. 

The video, which inflamed passions in a country where sectarian divisions run deep, was purportedly made by an expatriate Lebanese Sunni from the northern city of Tripoli and released on social media. 

In the predominately Sunni populated city of Saida in southern Lebanon, groups of masked youths stormed into a main square where they set ablaze several tents set up by demonstrators who have camped for weeks, local television stations said. 

Lebanon has been gripped by a historic wave of protests since Oct. 17 leading to the resignation of Saad al-Hariri as prime minister, amid anger at the government’s failure to address the country’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. 

More than seven weeks since Hariri quit, politicians have been unable to agree on a new administration despite the deepening financial crisis. 

The impasse took a violent turn at the weekend when Beirut was clouded in tear gas as security forces clashed with protesters who blame the ruling elite for corruption and bad governance. Dozens were wounded.

 

 

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