The Lebanese flags and the Lebanese army flags at Riad el-Solh Square, in downtown Beirut, on April 24, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L’Orient Today.)
BEIRUT — Retired military personnel in Lebanon have suspended planned nationwide protests after the government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam pledged to approve a plan adjusting pensions and salaries for both active and retired servicemembers, with a decision expected at a 3 p.m. Cabinet meeting in Beirut.
Following threats and the collective's raised tone, which had warned of "civil disobedience" actions in recent days, "a meeting took place on Thursday between a delegation of former military personnel and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, and Defense Minister Michel Menassa," a source from the collective told L'Orient Today. This meeting allowed the financial situation of military personnel, both active and retired, to be included in the meeting's agenda of the Council.
Retired military personnel have been demanding since 2019 a revaluation of their pensions, significantly reduced by the unprecedented devaluation of the national currency. They had published a vehement statement on Monday in which they announced "a new phase of struggle" and threatened to resort to civil disobedience.
In a statement relayed by local media, former military personnel indicated Thursday that the head of the government had assured that "the Council of Ministers would endeavor to approve a salary adjustment plan based on justice and equality." This plan includes "an increase or aid equivalent to 85% of the total amount received by an active employee," according to the text, under which the plan, which will be implemented gradually and discussed during the Council of Ministers, "will include immediate aid to ensure a minimum standard of living, with a deadline set for June 1, 2025."
This announcement responds at least partially to the veterans' demands. Among these demands is the gradual application starting June 1, 2025, of law n°46/2017, the public service salary scale adopted in June 2017, which excluded certain categories of people, including army retirees. Veterans are demanding a revaluation of their pensions, starting with an increase equivalent to 50% of its value in dollars (at market rate), followed by a 10% increase every six months until achieving a total revaluation of 100%. Soldiers have also requested the approval of an immediate monthly aid amounting to twenty million Lebanese pounds (more than 200 dollars) for all retirees.