AFP
Beirut
The civil campaign that has organised protests against Lebanese politicians in Beirut called yesterday for a nationwide mobilisation against a government they say is too corrupt to function.
“The people’s outrage at this corrupt system continues... The protests will go on today and tomorrow in all Lebanese regions,” the “You Stink” campaign wrote on its Facebook page.
The collective called for demonstrations yesterday in the coastal city of Tyre and in Zrariyeh, both in southern Lebanon.
And today, activists have urged supporters to protest in the eastern city of Chtaura, the historic town of Beiteddine and Nabatiyeh and Marjayoun in the south.
The protest movement began over a rubbish crisis that left pungent waste piling up in Beirut and its outskirts, but it has evolved into a broad-based movement against government impotence and corruption.
The demonstrations organised by “You Stink” have escalated over the past two weeks, peaking last when tens of thousands flooded Martyrs Square in central Beirut in a rare display of non-partisan mobilisation.
But a rival protest organised by the Free Patriotic Movement, one of Lebanon’s main Christian parties, was held in central Beirut yesterday with its own demands.
Thousands of protesters carrying the party’s trademark orange flags, as well the flags of allied Shia movement Hezbollah, descended on Martyrs Square.
FPM head Michel Aoun had urged supporters to demonstrate to demand parliamentary elections and a new electoral law that would see the public elect the president.
In Lebanon, the president is elected by the parliament.
Artists, political figures, and activists took to a makeshift stage to express support for Aoun and Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah.
Aoun, part of the March 8 coalition, is supported by Hezbollah and the embattled Syrian regime and opposes the Washington-backed March 14 coalition.
The two rival coalitions have divided the cabinet and parliament, which has been unable to elect a president since the post became vacant in May 2014.
The speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, has called for a national dialogue to discuss the paralysis plaguing Lebanon’s institutions.
But activists from “You Stink”, who insist that their campaign for political overhaul exempts no politicians, have accused Berri of diverting attention from their campaign.
On Tuesday, dozens of young activists staged a sit-in at the environment ministry to demand the resignation of the minister, but they were forcibly ejected.
Workers unload a vehicle at a temporary garbage dump at the northern entrance of Beirut yesterday.
