While Lebanon’s protests remain focused on the economy and widespread corruption, Washington is increasingly determined to exploit the movement as a geopolitical weapon in the region.
by Rania Khalek
Part 3 - Rising up against a failed oligarchy
On October 17, protests erupted spontaneously in downtown Beirut in reaction to a raft of regressive taxes. These included a tax on Whatsapp, one of the only free methods of communication in an otherwise expensive telecommunications market.
But the levies were themselves preceded by a series of events that led to the inevitable explosion. In early October, Lebanon’s forests were devastated by wildfires due in large part to government negligence and ineptitude. The state had for instance failed to even pay for the most basic maintenance of the helicopters needed to put out the fires.
At the same time, a shortage of US dollars, which Lebanon’s economy depends on, led to panic about a looming collapse — something economists have been predicting for years.
But the levies were themselves preceded by a series of events that led to the inevitable explosion. In early October, Lebanon’s forests were devastated by wildfires due in large part to government negligence and ineptitude. The state had for instance failed to even pay for the most basic maintenance of the helicopters needed to put out the fires.
At the same time, a shortage of US dollars, which Lebanon’s economy depends on, led to panic about a looming collapse — something economists have been predicting for years.
The public rage was compounded by the fact that 30 years after the civil war, the weak Lebanese state was still not able to provide basic services like 24-hour electricity, potable water, or waste management. This was a result of the neoliberal order that was imposed on Lebanon after the civil war by international financial institutions in coordination with the country’s ruling elites.
Lebanon’s main political parties are run by civil war-era warlords who have exploited a dysfunctional system to make themselves billionaires. They and their children flaunt their wealth in the streets and on social media.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri presents perhaps the most visible and cartoonish example: the ultra-wealthy fail-son was revealed in October to have sent $16 million to his South African mistress.
Lebanon’s main political parties are run by civil war-era warlords who have exploited a dysfunctional system to make themselves billionaires. They and their children flaunt their wealth in the streets and on social media.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri presents perhaps the most visible and cartoonish example: the ultra-wealthy fail-son was revealed in October to have sent $16 million to his South African mistress.
Another factor driving the protests was frustration with the country’s sectarian system, which generates corruption and gridlock. Under Lebanon’s power-sharing agreement, the president must be a Christian Maronite; the prime minister must be Sunni Muslim; and the speaker of parliament is mandated as a Shia Muslim.
This dynamic forces Lebanese citizens into a state of dependence on their communal sect leaders for services rather than the state, leading to a weak central government. The different sect leaders are extremely corrupt and have enriched themselves through nepotism, theft, and a Ponzi scheme economy.
This dynamic forces Lebanese citizens into a state of dependence on their communal sect leaders for services rather than the state, leading to a weak central government. The different sect leaders are extremely corrupt and have enriched themselves through nepotism, theft, and a Ponzi scheme economy.
The powerful banking sector is also politicized; it has been turned into an enemy of Hezbollah through its partnership and cooperation with American sanctions. Moreover, the head of the Central Bank, Riad Salamah, has aspired to remove the FPM-affiliated foreign minister, Gibran Bassil, and replace the current president, Michel Aoun. He also wants to weaken Hezbollah, which he and the banking sector view as a magnet for US sanctions and, therefore, a liability to their bottom line.
Recently imposed US sanctions have already led to the liquidation of a Shia-owned Lebanese bank, Jammal Trust, on the highly dubious grounds that it was financing Hezbollah activity. (Jammal Trust was, in fact, a close ally of the US embassy and partnered with USAID to fund literacy programs in the country).
Recently imposed US sanctions have already led to the liquidation of a Shia-owned Lebanese bank, Jammal Trust, on the highly dubious grounds that it was financing Hezbollah activity. (Jammal Trust was, in fact, a close ally of the US embassy and partnered with USAID to fund literacy programs in the country).
There was little doubt that an economic crisis was on the way in Lebanon, but US sanctions have accelerated the process. Sanctions against Hezbollah and anything deemed remotely affiliated with the Shia political movement are a part of the US’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran. They aim to bleed Hezbollah’s social welfare programs, which ultimately hurts the poor in their constituency, and threatens the businesses of wealthy Shias as well.
In such a precarious economy, a few US sanctions were all that was needed to immiserate a large sector of the Lebanese public.
This was the backdrop to the display of mass outrage that erupted in downtown Beirut this October. At first, a small group of demonstrators occupied the area. They included middle class activists from a 2015 protest against a lack of sanitation as well as poor Shias. In the course of their demonstration, they ran up against a convoy belonging to the minister of education, Akram Chehayeb. His bodyguards reacted with fear and then hyper-aggression, firing their rifles into the air.
In such a precarious economy, a few US sanctions were all that was needed to immiserate a large sector of the Lebanese public.
This was the backdrop to the display of mass outrage that erupted in downtown Beirut this October. At first, a small group of demonstrators occupied the area. They included middle class activists from a 2015 protest against a lack of sanitation as well as poor Shias. In the course of their demonstration, they ran up against a convoy belonging to the minister of education, Akram Chehayeb. His bodyguards reacted with fear and then hyper-aggression, firing their rifles into the air.
Videos of the violent spectacle spread on social media, provoking more citizens to join the protest. The next wave of demonstrators aimed their anger at the downtown property that belongs to Solidere, the real estate privatization and redevelopment company of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, which profited tremendously after the civil war while transforming the ruins of downtown into a bubble of inaccessible luxury.
The next two days saw groups of young masked men on motorbikes efficiently coordinating roadblocks across the city, lighting garbage bins and tires on fire. Many of them were Hezbollah supporters.
The next two days saw groups of young masked men on motorbikes efficiently coordinating roadblocks across the city, lighting garbage bins and tires on fire. Many of them were Hezbollah supporters.
“We started destroying and blocking what we believed is sucking the last cent out of our pockets: Solidere,” one of them told me.
Meanwhile, the protests ballooned, filling the streets downtown and spreading to other parts of the country, bringing in people from all classes and sects. But the momentum was short lived.
Meanwhile, the protests ballooned, filling the streets downtown and spreading to other parts of the country, bringing in people from all classes and sects. But the momentum was short lived.
Hezbollah’s base played an important role in the protests in the early stages, hoping the street actions would provide opportunity to pressure Amal, the rival Shia party headed by Nabih Berri, the speaker of the parliament. Berri is viewed as one of the most corrupt politicians in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s attempted reforms to help the poor had been obstructed by Amal, hence the attempt to put pressure on Berri. Amal was up to its eyeballs in corruption, feasting on the Shia share of the public budget, and constantly provoking Hezbollah’s constituency.
Days into the protests, Hezbollah supporters from the student unions made a strong showing in protests outside the Central bank. But then, they were sideswiped by the right-wing.
Days into the protests, Hezbollah supporters from the student unions made a strong showing in protests outside the Central bank. But then, they were sideswiped by the right-wing.
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