United by disgust, but shared vision eludes Lebanese

Lebanon's massive street protests have made it clear that demonstrators want the entire political class removed, but what they want next often differs.
Lebanese still on streets despite reforms announced by government
Maronite Patriarch becomes first religious figure to wade into crisis
Uncertainty over protests' ultimate goals raises fears of power vacuum

BEIRUT - Lebanon's highest Christian authority called on Wednesday for a change in government to include qualified technocrats and urged the president to begin talks to address demands of demonstrators in the streets for a seventh day.

Throwing his weight behind demands for at least some change in government, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai was the first major religious figure to wade into the crisis.

With a population of 6 million people including around 1 million Syrian refugees, Lebanon has been swept by unprecedented protests against a political elite blamed for a deep economic crisis.

Flag-waving protesters kept roads blocked around the country with vehicles and makeshift barricades on Wednesday, while banks and schools remained shut.

Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's government announced an emergency reform package on Monday, to try to defuse the anger of protesters demanding his government resigns and also to steer the heavily indebted state away from a looming financial crisis.

Rai said the measures were welcome but also required replacing current ministers with technocrats.

He did not demand Hariri's resignation.

Hariri's government, which took office at the start of the year, groups nearly all of the main parties in the Lebanese sectarian power-sharing system.

"The list of reforms is a positive first step but it requires amending the ministers and renewing the administrative team with national, qualified figures," Rai said in a televised speech.

"We call on the president of the republic ... to immediately begin consultations with the political leadership and the heads of the sects to take the necessary decisions regarding the people's demands," Rai said.

The president is drawn from his Christian Maronite community.

Political sources said a reshuffle was being discussed. One said the idea of a change in government was "starting to mature". "But it is not there yet. Not everyone is at the same state of emergency," the source said.

"The street is imposing its rhythm on the political class, the political class has to be dynamic with it. It is a standoff - who will concede first?" the source said.

Uncertain goals

Lebanon's unrest is the latest in a flare-up of political protests around the world - from Hong Kong and Barcelona to Quito and Santiago - each having its own trigger but sharing some underlying frustrations.

Lebanese army troops scuffled with demonstrators on Wednesday as they struggled to unblock main roads.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shiite Muslim, said Lebanon could not remain in such chaos and said he feared any power vacuum.

"Everything the political class is doing now is clearly to buy time ... the reform list is a lie. Today the demand is for the government to fall," said Manal Ghanem, a protester at a barricade in Beirut.

"We want to get an interim government that holds early elections ... We need to stay strong, to stay in the streets," said Ghanem, a university graduate who works in a coffee shop.

Lebanon's massive street protests have made it clear what the demonstrators oppose, with the entire political class in the crosshairs. The focus is now turning to what exactly they stand for.

The movement's soundtrack has been a chorus of inventive chants calling out politicians from all sects and parties with rhyming insults.

Most people want the unity government, which is supported by nearly all Lebanon's major political parties, to resign, and disgust with the status quo has been a unifying force.

But what they want next often differs. On the outskirts of another rally in Beirut, when tens of thousands again brought much of the capital to a standstill, teenager Peter Sayegh and his friend Andrew Baydoun were playing cards on a plastic table.

They agreed that Hariri and the current government has to go, but not on the future of Lebanon.

"I want the people to rule and give us our rights, secure work for the country and secure my future so I won't have to emigrate," Sayegh said, leaning back on his chair while clutching a Lebanese flag.

Baydoun objected.

"The whole government needs to go and be replaced by a military one," he argued, calling for 84-year-old President Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian former army chief, to stay on.

Lebanon is marked by stark political and sectarian divisions, with many of its political leaders being former warlords who fought along religious lines during the country's brutal 1975-1990 civil war.

The government is set up to balance power between multiple sects, which include different Christian groups, Sunni and Shiite Muslims, as well as the Druze, leading to the entrenchment of power and influence along sectarian lines.

But so far the protests have been overwhelmingly apolitical, with most party and religious symbols abandoned in favour of the cedar-stamped national flag. They have also been inclusive - with no specific stated goals, or leadership or management structure.

However, that bottom-up structure poses risks, with fears that the momentum could slip away as people feel pressure to return to work or school. Numbers of protesters have declined since peaking Sunday, which is weekend in Lebanon.

Mass protests in 2015 ultimately failed to achieve major change and elections in 2018 ushered in the same sectarian parties. In 2016, a non-sectarian coalition called Beirut Madinati (Beirut is my city) came close but ultimately fell short in city elections.

In the general election two years later, the group was part of a coalition that won only one seat.

'Demands later'

On Monday, Mona Fawaz of Beirut Madinati gave a brief speech in the centre of the capital, stressing she was not claiming to represent the entire protest movement.

Yet parts of the crowd accused her group of trying to hijack the demonstrations.

"Go and speak in ABC," one protester yelled, accusing the group of elitism by referring a high-end shopping mall in Beirut.

Speeches on Tuesday evening concentrated on points of agreement: calls for the government's resignation and reclaiming public funds embezzled by politicians.

Nizar Hassan, 26, part of a leftwing group called Lihaqqi (for my rights), said the protest movement had to be realistic.

"This is a popular uprising, you can't just say: 'These are the demands.' But a lot of people are talking about things that are actually quite achievable," he said.

For Hassan, an interim government of technocrats could stabilise the economy ahead of new elections in which the traditional parties would be obliterated.

"In 2015, people were talking about overthrowing the sectarian system altogether. (Now) people are much more knowledgeable of the limits," he said.

Carmen Geha, an assistant professor at the American University of Beirut, said the new protests had support across economic groups and throughout the country.

"Leaderless movements can dissipate and be co-opted," she warned. "There is a need to frame the demands. But right now this is a popular protest - go to the streets now and talk demands later."

Lebanon's economy, whose mainstays include construction and tourism, has suffered years of low growth linked to regional turmoil. Capital inflows from abroad, critical to financing the state deficit, have ebbed, exacerbating the social and economic pressures felt by millions of Lebanese citizens.

The country has one of the world's highest levels of public debt compared to the size of its economy at around 150%.

The powerful Shiite group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and heavily armed, said on Saturday it was against the government resigning and the country did not have enough time for such a move given the acute financial crisis.

The moves announced by Hariri on Monday included the halving of salaries of ministers and lawmakers, as well as steps toward implementing long-delayed measures vital to fixing state finances.

Under pressure to convince foreign donors he can slash next year's budget deficit, Hariri has said the central bank and commercial banks would contribute 5.1 trillion Lebanese pounds ($3.4 billion) to help plug the gap, including through an increase in taxes on bank profits.

Hariri met Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Wednesday following his return from Washington, where the governor attended International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings. He also met a delegation from the Association of Banks in Lebanon.