The minister of Information Manal Abdel Samad announced his resignation Sunday, in the aftermath of violent protests against the political class.
new protests are expected on Sunday in Lebanon in the aftermath of a day of action marked by assaults on the ministries launched by protesters angry at the ruling class accused of negligence after the massive blast in Beirut.
in the Face of the scale of the drama and the ire of the population which is demanding the departure of all leaders, the minister of Information Manal Abdel Samad has announced his resignation, the first by a member of the government. But the maronite patriarch Bechara Rai, who has a strong influence, has requested the resignation of the government, referring to a “crime against humanity”.
It is necessary to “act quickly and with effectiveness,” aid “goes directly” to the lebanese population, has launched the French president Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of a video conference call international support to the country bruised, three days after his trip to Beirut.
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The explosion of unprecedented violence was caused on Tuesday by 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored for six years at the port of Beirut “without precautionary measures” of the confession even of the Prime minister, Hassan Diab. It caused a crater of 43 metres of depth, according to a security source. The search for two dozen people still missing is continuing in the ruins of the port, almost completely destroyed by the explosion which was 158 dead and 6000 injured according to the latest official toll.
In a country like Lebanon, already brought to its knees by an economic crisis unprecedented, aggravated by the epidemic of Covid-19, the rage increases within a public opinion traumatized. Entire neighborhoods of the capital were devastated and hundreds of thousands of Beyrouthins are homeless, sometimes sleeping in houses half collapsed.
“Prepare the gallows”
This tragedy too, illustrating the inefficiency of power gave a new impetus to the dispute triggered the end of 2019. Sunday, calls to protest circulating on the social networks, to gatherings in the early afternoon on the iconic Martyrs ‘ square, in the heart of Beirut’s damaged. “Prepare the gallows, because our anger will not turn off in a day”, can we read on the messages circulating online.
Unemployment, public services in disarray, difficult conditions of life : a popular uprising unprecedented had erupted in October 2019, to demand the resignation of the entire political class virtually unchanged for decades. But the economic crisis has worsened, and a new government has been accused of incompetence. And the protest has lost steam especially with the pandemic of sars coronavirus and containment.
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Saturday, demonstrators briefly stormed the ministries of foreign Affairs, Economy, Energy, as well as the Association of banks reporting a tightening on the side of the dispute. Thousands of Lebanese gathered in Martyrs ‘ square, waving brooms and shovels, at a time when it is the population itself that leads the clean-up operations, the government did not take up on it no action to help him.
The protesters also brandished bow of fortune, claiming that it hangs down from the leaders to the tragedy of the port. Groups of protesters have tried to cross the security checkpoints protecting the Parliament close. The security forces have fired tear gas and rubber bullets in the face of protesters who responded with throwing rocks. In a luxury hotel on the site, a member of the security forces has been the victim of a fatal fall after being attacked by “rioters”, according to police.
About 65 people wounded in the clashes have been hospitalized, and 185 treated on the spot, according to the lebanese Red Cross. “After the huge disaster of Beirut, I present my resignation from the government,” the minister said Manal Abdel Samad. “I apologize from the Lebanese, we have not been able to meet their expectations.”
“No blank cheques”
in order To attempt to appease the anger of the street, Hassan Diab has announced that he will propose early elections and says he is ready to stay in power “for two months”, the time that the political forces agree upon.
To help the ravaged country, France has mobilized and organized this Sunday a conference of international assistance by video conferencing, three days after a move of Emmanuel Macron to Beirut. While the public opinion of lebanese do not trust the government, the French president had taken care to specify that aid mobilized would go directly to the people and NGOS and not “corruption”.
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Reiterating a call for reform and asking the lebanese leaders to “change the system”, Emmanuel Macron had warned him that he could not “give blank checks to systems which no longer have the trust of their people.”
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Double explosion in Beirut
Lebanon : Emmanuel Macron urged the international community to “act quickly” The explosion in Beirut has dug a crater from 43 metres depth In Beirut, the angry protesters to occupy ministries
The explosion of unprecedented violence has been caused in the government by 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored for six years at the port of Beirut “without precautionary measures” of the confession even of the Prime minister, Hassan Diab. It dug a crater of 43 metres of depth, according to a security source. The search for 21 people still missing is continuing in the field of ruins that became the port, after the explosion on Tuesday, which was 158 dead and 6000 injured according to the latest report of the ministry of Health.
