Thousands of Lebanese demonstrate against taxes, corruption

BEIRUT: Thousands of protesters blocked major highways in Lebanon and burnt tyres for a second day Friday as dozens of people were injured in clashes with security forces that threatened the country’s fragile coalition government.

Demonstrators have taken to the streets in protest at corruption and proposed tax hikes, with many calling for an overhaul of Lebanon’s sectarian system and voicing contempt for their leaders. Under-fire Prime Minister Saad Hariri was expected to give an address later Friday about the protests sparked by a proposed new tax on users of WhatsApp and other messaging applications.

At lunchtime, hundreds of demonstrators had brought central Beirut to a standstill. With smoke from burning tyres around them, protesters flew the Lebanese flag and chanted ‘The people demand the fall of the regime,’ a popular refrain from the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.

Yara, a 23-year-old graduate, said she joined up because the protests were not sectarian. “For once people are saying it doesn’t matter the religion, it doesn’t matter which political party you are following,” she said. “Today what matters is that all of the Lebanese people are protesting together.”

Lebanon, which was devastated by a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, maintains a complicated political system based on balancing influence between Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims and other religious groups. The current unity government is backed by politicians from across the political spectrum but has been hampered by a financial crisis.

Public anger has simmered since parliament passed an austerity budget in July to help trim a ballooning deficit. Tempers boiled over Thursday over plans to introduce a $0.20 tax on calls on messaging applications such as WhatsApp, which are widely used in Lebanon. The government scrapped the proposal within hours but the demonstrations carried on into the early hours of Friday.

Security forces finally dispersed them shortly before dawn, firing volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets after they had tried to storm government headquarters. The National News Agency (NNA) said two foreign workers choked to death early Friday.