Lebanese anti-government protesters call Saturday rally

Politicians in Lebanon are increasingly gripped by the fear that Hezbollah has hijacked the “You Stink” protests in order to overthrow the government and seize power, Israel’s Maariv reported on Monday. The streets of the capital are full of piles of garbage after the capital’s main landfill was closed a month ago.

But now that expanding mounds of uncollected garbage have made life in Beirut and other cities an uncomfortable embarrassment, the Lebanese people have all but had it. Over the weekend, an explosion of anti-government political demonstrations shattered established sectarian political rules that have defined the country since its birth in the 1930s.

Speaking to journalists, Maarouf called for a large protest Saturday.

The country’s parliament has extended its mandate twice since the last election in 2009.

“It shows the Lebanese society to some extent catching up with the rest of the Arab world in terms of popular protests against the central government”, said Rami Khouri, a senior fellow at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut.

The people of Beirut, Lebanon took to the streets to demand the government carry out one of its most basic and important duties: taking out the trash.

Many protesters, including some of the organizers, have distanced themselves from those who clashed with police, describing them as “infiltrators” and “thugs” sent by sectarian leaders to discredit the campaign. “All of them – warlords, legislators and ministers – are working for their own interest and not those of the people”, said Nada Qadoura, a retired woman who took part in Sunday’s protest along with two of her friends.

“They’re living large while we’re paying the price”, Mr Bouchebel said of politicians and their beneficiaries. The violence gave the security apparatus a “legitimate” pretext to respond with force. However such a transfer dangers plunging the nation into a fair higher energy vacuum and instability, additional straining a rustic’s fragile monetary system already inundated with Syrian conflict refugees. They had initially planned to rally on Monday but postponed following the violence. The occasion was peaceable within the early night, with giant concrete limitations blocking these in Riad Solh Sq. from reaching the federal government constructing.

Although the constitution guarantees the right to protest, the protesters were met with violence by the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and the army in scenes reminiscent of those of the Arab Spring protests.

Lebanon does not have a functioning parliament and has lacked a president for over a year. “It is the most obvious sign that the government is not just incompetent, but has a vested interest in the public’s demise”.

The federal government has tried to reply.

Following the ministers’ walk out, the cabinet unanimously rejected the winning bidders to privately manage Beirut’s rubbish collection, which had been announced by the environment minister on Monday, citing high costs.

US Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale said he was “deeply troubled” by the images and reports of injuries and called for a thorough investigation and restraint on all sides.

Activists in Lebanon vowed on Monday to press ahead with protests over a trash crisis that have become an outlet for deep-rooted, broad-based frustration over political stagnation, corruption, and crumbling infrastructure.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai called PM Tammam Salam asserting that the solution to all the problems is to elect a head for the state.