Protesters Rally near U.S. Embassy to Deplore U.S. Statements
A number of demonstrators who are part of the anti-corruption protest movement that is sweeping the country on Sunday rallied near the U.S. embassy in Awkar to denounce recent U.S. statements about the situation in Lebanon.
Heightened security measures were taken in the area as a security cordon was imposed several hundred meters away from the embassy to prevent protesters from approaching it.
The National News Agency said protesters stressed that their demo “is not aimed at proving their patriotism before the supporters of the resistance (against Israel), but is rather aimed at rejecting the U.S. policy in Lebanon and all the politicians who claim to be against the United States.”
Some protesters meanwhile said that improving living conditions in Lebanon is as important as immunizing the country in the face of foreign interferences.
At the end of the demo, the majority of protesters started marching towards downtown Beirut as a few stayed behind and said they would try to cross the metallic barriers.
The rally did not witness any confrontation with security forces in contrast to demos held in the same area in the past.
Most of those who participated belong to leftist groups or are supporters of the official Syrian Social Nationalist Party and its various splinter factions.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus and former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Jeffrey Feltman have commented on Lebanon’s protests in recent days.
The protesters blasted the comments by Feltman before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Middle East in which he said that "the demonstrations and the reactions to them by Lebanese leaders and institutions fortunately coincide with U.S. interests."
Protesters have been holding demonstrations in Lebanon since Oct. 17, demanding an end to widespread corruption and mismanagement by the political class that has ruled the country for three decades.
The protests have since snowballed into calls for the entire political elite to step aside.
Source: Naharnet, Associated Press
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