On Saturday, Lebanese marked the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 17 revolution with a torch-lighting ceremony in honor of the victims of the Aug. 4 explosion at Beirut port.
BEIRUT — Here’s what happened over the weekend and what to expect today, Monday, Oct. 19, and this week.
Demonstrators returned to the streets of Beirut on Saturday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 17 uprising. Activists converged in Martyrs’ Square for marches past the banking lobby headquarters, Ring Bridge, central bank and Parliament before arriving at the port to light a torch in honor of the victims of the Aug. 4 explosion that killed at least 202 people and decimated entire neighborhoods of the capital. While attendance was down from previous protests, resentment was evident against a ruling class governing over a sharp decline in living conditions.
Amid mounting anger over new restrictions on cash lira withdrawals, a lobbying group for Lebanon’s banks claimed on Friday night that it was reversing course. A spokesperson for the Association of Banks in Lebanon told L’Orient Today that withdrawals would “return to normal,” but added that depositors should nonetheless prioritize using credit cards and checks over cash. The ABL said it had reached an understanding with the central bank over its latest measure regarding the provision of cash lira to financial institutions. The central bank has not publicly responded to the banking lobby’s statement. It remains to be seen if previous withdrawal limits will be restored.
The Interior Ministry scaled back its coronavirus lockdowns, ordering 79 municipalities to close down starting from today until Oct. 26. Last week, 169 towns and villages across the country were told to shut down. In an interview published yesterday in Ad-Diyar, caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan said the localized lockdowns were unsuccessful and should include cities. Caretaker Public Works Michel Najjar said yesterday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, the second member of Hassan Diab’s cabinet to come down with the virus. The Interior Ministry’s loosening of restrictions comes despite a dangerous spike in cases, with more than 33,000 people currently afflicted with the virus.
Michel Aoun yesterday denied any involvement with the Apr. 26 release of a Saudi prince sentenced last year for drug running. The president said in a statement that he had rejected granting a pardon for Abdul-Mohsen bin Walid bin Abdul-Aziz, who attempted to smuggle 1,900 kilograms of captagon aboard a private jet leaving Beirut in 2015. Aoun added that he had nothing to do with the July 21 lifting of the travel ban on the Saudi royal, who left Lebanon three days later. On Thursday, financial prosecutors launched an investigation into claims surrounding Customs chief Badri Daher's alleged involvement in lifting the travel ban. Separately, Aoun has refused to dismiss Daher from his position following the Aug. 4 explosion that devastated the capital. Daher remains under house arrest.
General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim, a well-connected troubleshooter for Lebanon’s political elite, traveled yesterday from Washington to Paris for talks with French officials, according to local media. France on Friday reiterated its call for Lebanese political leaders to assume their responsibilities and form a government capable of implementing reforms. Emmanuel Macron’s road map for reforms in Lebanon, which was rolled out in early September, has been stopped dead in its tracks by Lebanon’s political elite, who failed at the first step: forming a government.
The Parliament’s fall session will start on Tuesday. The session, which runs from mid-October through the end of the year, will begin with the election of parliamentary officers and committee members. It is then constitutionally mandated to pass next year’s budget before conducting any other business; however, with no government, there is no budget to pass. Speaker Nabih Berri called for Parliament to meet 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Since April, lawmakers have convened at UNESCO Palace, near the speaker’s Ain al-Tineh residence, following the coronavirus outbreak and activist attempts to block MPs from reaching the Parliament building in downtown Beirut.
Postponed last week, parliamentary consultations on a new premier are scheduled for Thursday. Saad Hariri’s bid to return as a premier for a fourth time is opposed by the Free Patriotic Movement, which said Saturday it rejects the Future Movement leader heading a cabinet of technocrats. Hariri’s allies, the Lebanese Forces, said last week they would cast blank ballots in the vote. Aoun, the father-in-law of FPM head Gebran Bassil, postponed last week’s consultations because Christian political parties had not rallied behind Hariri, according to a source who spoke to our sister publication L’Orient-Le Jour. The Marada and Amal movements support Hariri, while Tashnag leader Hagop Pakradounian told Al-Jadeed on Sunday night that his party might split with its longtime ally the FPM on the nomination of the premier. Today marks 10 weeks since the fall of Hassan Diab’s cabinet, a prime minister-designate has already come and gone, and politicians continue to squabble.