Police Tighten Security Around Parliament in Line with Budget Meeting

Amid protests expected by the retired servicemen in Nejmeh Square, the perimeter of the House of representatives was turned on Tuesday into a “buffer zone” in preparation for the launch of legislative meetings devoted to discussing and ratifying the 2019 state budget.

Police set up temporary barricades and brought in barbed wire to prevent the protesters from approaching the parliament building.

Retired servicemen began rallying in central Beirut since Monday evening vowing to “block all the entrances leading to the parliament.”

The retirees are protesting against three articles in the new state budget that cut their pay benefits.

The first is reportedly related to taxing separate benefits that “should have been part of the main salary since the 1990s.”

The second is related to suspending pre-legal age retirement for the next three years while the third would raise health care fees from 6 to 9%, equaling retired servicemen with public sector pensioners.

Photo source: michaeltotten.com