Lebanon's fledgling government was meant to quell political dissent. Instead, protesters surged into downtown Beirut for another night of clashes, many rejecting not only the new government’s makeup, but also the system that birthed it.
They’ve also blocked roads, smashed storefronts and nursed wounds in pitched battles against each other as well as Lebanon’s increasingly violent army and riot police.
“To the [protesters], It doesn’t matter,” said Faysal Itani, a deputy director at the Center for Global Policy, a Washington think tank, in an interview on Wednesday. “The benchmark for what is acceptable is so far from the likely reality that we are all placed on a collision course.”That course had been set well before protests began in October.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab, a onetime education minister and an engineering professor at the American University of Beirut, insisted his government, staffed by what he called technocrats, “represent[ed] the aspirations of the demonstrators.”But protesters dismissed it as an iteration of the same party politics that had plagued the country. Many of those chosen were relatively unknown faces, but almost had all had been linked to established parties.
Those grievances exploded into renewed clashes in downtown Beirut. A little after 5 p.m. Wednesday, enraged protesters rushed to a square near parliament and stormed barricades. Riot police backed by army troops marched in, pushing demonstrators into a main thoroughfare with water cannons and fusillades of tear gas.
“You’re coming here to watch? What do you think this is, a play?” said one riot-gear-clad policeman to a group of people walking in the area. He grabbed one of the men by the shoulder and asked for his ID.Diab’s government is seeking international help, a task made harder if it’s perceived to have strong connections to Hezbollah. The group is supported by Iran, making it a target for Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran and its proxies.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Zurich police use tear gas, water cannons on World Economic Forum protestersSwiss police on Wednesday used water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas to sub...
Read more »
Lebanon forms government with backing of Hezbollah and alliesLebanon formed a new government on Tuesday under Prime Minister Hassan Diab afte...
Read more »
New government in crisis-hit Lebanon, but protests continueA new Cabinet has been announced in crisis-hit Lebanon, breaking a months-long impasse amid ongoing mass protests against the country's ruling elite.
Read more »
Zurich police use tear gas, water cannons on World Economic Forum protestersSwiss police on Wednesday used water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas to sub...
Read more »
New government in crisis-hit Lebanon ends 3-month power vacuumLebanon formed a new government after the Shia Hezbollah movement and its allies agreed on a cabinet that must urgently tackle the crisis.
Read more »
After months of protest, Lebanon forms new governmentAfter months of escalating protests, Lebanon has named a new prime minister and cabinet.
Read more »