Protests at VAT, BDL as Uprising Enters Day 44

For the 43rd day in a row, protesters demanding an overhaul of the political class continue to pressure politicians into responding to their demands for a new government and termination of corruption.

A group of protesters gathered early on Friday, for the second day, near the Finance Ministry’s VAT building in Adlieh. They blocked the entrance to the building preventing access for employees.

“Our revolution is peaceful and targets the corrupt. We consented to requests asking us not to block the streets, our moves target major state institutions and banking and financial institutions,” one protester said in remarks to LBCI reporter.

“Lebanese pay government taxes but don't get services or any balanced growth in return. Tax evasion in Lebanon amounts to around $4 to 5 billion dollars,” another protester said, sitting cross-legged on the pavement brandishing the Lebanese flag.

Later, anti-riot police tried to keep protesters at a distance from the VAT building that angered the demonstrators.

Demonstrators also gathered near the Central Bank in Zahle and the Central Bank in the southern town of Nabatieh to protest against the bank’s policies against the dollar and money exchange houses that they say have contributed to the country's economic crisis.

They protested under the banner “the Lebanese pound is doing fine.”

Similar moves were taken on Thursday outside the Central Bank in Beirut’s commercial Hamra district, calling for fiscal measures that will not affect small depositors and the poor.

Amid dollar shortages, Lebanese banks have imposed unprecedented financial controls to preserve liquidity, further paralyzing the country and forcing up prices amid fears of financial collapse.

Outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who was Aoun’s and Hizbullah’s favorite to lead a new Cabinet, withdrew his candidacy for the premiership, saying he hoped to clear the way for a solution to the political impasse after over 40 days of protests. Protesters have resorted to road closures and other tactics to pressure politicians into responding to their demands for a new government.

Hariri had resigned Oct. 29 in response to the mass protests ignited by new taxes and the severe financial crisis. His resignation met a key demand of the protesters but plunged the country into uncertainty, with no clear path to resolving its economic and political problems.

Hariri had insisted on heading a government of technocrats, while his opponents, including Hizbullah, want a Cabinet made up of both experts and politicians.