Demonstrators gathered in Beirut's Martyrs Square during the October 2019 popular uprising. (Credit: Patrick Baz/ AFP file photo)
BEIRUT — Collectives from the Oct. 17, 2019 popular uprising announced protests in Lebanon for tomorrow, Monday, on the third anniversary of the thawra (Arabic for revolution) and for Thursday, in parallel with the third parliamentary session aimed at electing Lebanon's next president.
In images shared on social networks, several collectives announced demonstrations for Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Martyrs Square in Downtown Beirut. They plan to observe a minute of silence in memory of "the martyrs of October 17" and then head towards Parliament on Nejmeh Square.
In a joint statement issued Sunday and reported by the state-run National News Agency, several collectives from the protest movement are also calling for a demonstration on Thursday.
"We ask the Lebanese people to meet on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, the day of the third session devoted to the election of a president," the statement said, continuing, "First to put an end to the spectacle given by the ruling class during these sterile sessions that only lead to anarchy and collapse, and to force the election of a president who will restore Lebanon's standing."
MPs have twice failed to elect a successor to President Michel Aoun due to the lack of consensus between political forces.
"A third year has passed and the authorities are still trying to revitalize themselves without any will to revitalize the nation," the statement also says, referring to the three years since Oct. 17, 2019. On that date, an unprecedented uprising swept Lebanon, with hundreds of thousands taking to the country's streets to denounce the political class in power.
The popular protests across the country lasted for several months, with repeated clashes between protesters and security forces.
Today, the country remains in economic collapse and 80 percent of the population now lives in poverty, according to UN figures.