Washington Post: Figures explain the causes of the protests in the world

The protests in Hong Kong, Iraq and Chile in recent months have been spontaneous, and writers have expressed anger at governments' handling of people's simple concerns.

In fact, virtually all the large demonstrations have deep roots in societies and result in years of growing frustration over issues such as governments' failure to deal with environmental issues, economic hardship, mismanagement, corruption or repression, Rawak said in an article in The Washington Post. Government.

The American newspaper in figures reviewed the causes of popular anger in a number of countries in the world as follows:

Lebanon .. 20 cents
By resigning as prime minister last Tuesday, Saad Hariri met one of the core demands of the protesters, but the move is unlikely to ease tensions between protesters and the political elite, which critics see as corrupt and responsible for mismanagement, economic crises and environmental issues.

Lebanon's problems range from high levels of pollution to the waste crisis to fears of an economic meltdown, but one of the factors that has plunged Lebanon into the mud, according to those critics, lies in the country's power-sharing system that distributes parliament seats on a sectarian basis.

Amid deep-seated resentment of the ongoing paralysis, tensions flared in mid-October when Hariri's government proposed charging 20 US cents for voice calls on the Internet.

The Washington Post said that the proposal summarizes the state of a "cracked" political system that made the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.

Iraq .. 180/168
Last month's popular protests hit Iraq, with Iraqis expressing outrage at issues that look similar to Lebanon's, such as corruption, weak infrastructure, unemployment, etc.

Although Iraq is a relatively oil-rich country, about 50% of its revenues go to salaries for workers in the country "who do not do much work."

Suspicion is that many officials are using state funds to enrich themselves and their political patrons, and the result of corruption is that Iraq was at the bottom of Transparency International's list of the world's most corrupt countries for 2018, ranking 168 out of 180.

Hong Kong .. 500 miles
The protests on the island entered its fifth month, with no prospect of receding.

Since Britain handed over Hong Kong authority to China in 1997, pessimists have been concerned that Beijing will not tolerate giving the islanders a great deal of political and economic freedom, and China has been waiting for the opportunity to tighten its grip on Hong Kong residents.

This opportunity came in February 2018 following an incident in northern Taiwan, about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Hong Kong, where a pregnant woman was on vacation with her boyfriend Chan Tong Kai there, where she was killed and her body was put in a suitcase. the crime.

Hong Kong authorities could not extradite Chan to Taiwan because there was no agreement between them. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carey Liam took the opportunity to propose amendments to the extradition law to make it easier for security suspects to be deported to the Chinese mainland.

Carry Lam's proposal sparked protests in the first week of June.

Although the local government was forced within a week to suspend the project, angry protesters continued to press to force the authorities to abolish it permanently, ensure the independence of the judiciary, as well as demand the resignation of the chief executive of the island's largely autonomous, yet sovereign China.

Chile .. 4 cents
As in Lebanon, protests erupted in Chile over seemingly insignificant adjustments but the straw that broke the camel's back.

That straw was a four-cent increase in metro transport charges in the capital, Santiago, fueling the protesters' anger at what they saw as a lack of public services and dangerous levels of social inequality.

Spain .. 92%
Protesters in Catalonia recently staged a response to Spain's Supreme Court's sentencing of nine to 13 years in prison for nine separatist leaders.

Catalan leaders held a referendum in October 2017 on the independence of the province in northeastern Spain, and 43% of registered voters cast their votes, with the vast majority (92%) support secession from Spain.

However, the majority now appears to be against independence, with many boycotting the 2017 referendum.

Russia .. 31.7%
The demonstrations, known as the "Summer of Protests" this year, have demonstrated the vitality of civil society in Russia, as well as the government's dual strategy of sometimes allowing authorities to demonstrate, while sometimes using violence to suppress them.

Pakistan .. 2.4%
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan faces public resentment over a deteriorating economy, civil rights abuses and fears of restrictions on press freedom.

Although the country's economy has been growing at an annual rate of more than 4%, this figure could fall to 2.4% next year, amid expectations of stagnant exports and rising debt rates.

Other protests
Demonstrations erupted in other countries that barely caught the attention of the world.In Belgium, 30,000 university and high school students took part in gatherings in Germany, Switzerland and Australia, and other regions of the world demonstrated in solidarity with young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Thunberg has inspired many around the world to defend environmental issues, particularly in tackling climate change.