Protesters gather outside ABL and MTC headquarters in downtown

BEIRUT — Hundreds on Tuesday afternoon marched from the Energy Ministry headquarters in Corniche al-Nahr towards downtown Beirut to protest electricity shortages that Lebanon is struggling with and an increase in telecommunications tariffs implemented this month amidst an unprecedented economic crisis.

Here’s what we know:

    • Videos shared on social media show a number of protesters banging on the doors of the Association of Banks in Lebanon headquarters in downtown Beirut. Since the nationwide protests that started in October 2019, protesters have blamed the banks for placing de facto capital controls on most people’s deposits while billions of dollars were reportedly transferred outside the country.

    • A video shared by The Association of Lebanese Depositors also showed a few dozen protestors gathering outside the offices of the telecommunication company MTC Touch, while security officers and the Lebanese Army were trying to push them away from the area.

    • New telecommunication prices came into effect on Friday, requiring all subscriptions to be paid in dollars using Banque du Liban’s Sayrafa rate, which stands at LL25,300 against the dollar as of Tuesday, while the tariffs had previously been based on the official rate of LL1,507 to the dollar. The original dollar rate of the bill (at LL1,507.5-US$1) will now be divided by three, then multiplied by the Sayrafa rate. Meanwhile many workers’ wages have stagnated.

    • On May 20, Telecommunication Minister Johny Corm told L’Orient Today that telecommunications sector revenues are expected to rise to $350 million from $70 million when the new prices are implemented.

    • Earlier in the day, Lebanon’s other main telecommunications company, Alfa, announced in a statement that it is “following up on the price change process” in the implementation of the government decision. It added that it is ready to receive any complaints or reviews in this regard if users contact customer service.