Harak hopes to end sectarian system

Al-Jazeera correspondent that the meeting of the Lebanese Council of Ministers ended with the approval of the economic paper and the budget of 2020. Al-Jazeera correspondent added that the ministers of the Socialist Party withdrew before the end of the meeting to not take their demands in the economic paper.

The website of the Lebanese presidency has said that the cabinet has finished discussing the reform paper with all its items, and is now discussing the figures of the draft budget 2020 and its texts.

In a speech, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that the Lebanese people have been very patient and desperate before they explode, noting that the three-day deadline he requested was not requested by the people but by its partners in the government.

He said that the new budget did not include new taxes, noting that the government will reduce 50% of the salaries of ministers and deputies, and pointed out that they are working on a draft law to recover the looted funds.

He explained that the government is working to establish a body to fight corruption before the end of the year, stressing that the next budget reflects a change in economic thinking, pointing out that these decisions may not satisfy the angry protesters, but achieve what was demanded two years ago, pointing out that their movement is what contributed to achieve What they found today.

In his speech to the Lebanese people, Hariri said, "I hope that what happened was the beginning of the end of the sectarian system in Lebanon."

It is not yet known whether the proposed reforms will satisfy the protesters, many of whom are now demanding the government's resignation.

Al-Jazeera correspondent from the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Johnny Tanios, said that the approval of the political forces of the reform paper is positive, but its application remains subject to the satisfaction of the street.

Continued protest
These developments come at a time when popular protests continue for the fifth consecutive day in a number of areas to demand the resignation of the government and the departure of symbols of the political system and the recovery of looted funds.

Since morning, demonstrators gathered in downtown Beirut and other cities, including Tripoli, Akkar, Tire, Sidon and Nabatiyeh.

A number of roads continue to be cut in some streets of the capital and regions, in light of calls from unions and labor unions for the continuation of popular movements and general strike.

The unprecedented move in Lebanon against the backdrop of living demands in a small country weighed down by indebtedness, corruption, privatization and political inheritance is on its fifth day in a row, while demonstrators stick to the demand of the departure of the political class, scornful of all the "anesthetic" solutions offered.

Early on Monday, demonstrators began cutting off key roads to prevent employees from going to work, and kept banks, universities and schools closed, the day after major demonstrations in central Beirut and several cities from the north to the south, including celebrations and chants demanding the departure of the entire political class.

The moves have taken an upward trend since Thursday as the number of demonstrators increased in succession, paralyzing the country and closing all its institutions. Protesters blame the political class for its mismanagement, corruption and inability to find solutions to decades-old problems.

In recent weeks, the government has been considering imposing new taxes, which affect the pockets of the poor and low-income, rather than stop wasting in some sectors and reforming sectors that cost the state treasury huge sums.