The head of the caretaker government in Lebanon, Saad Hariri, said on Twitter yesterday that Lebanon needs "a new government urgently to stop the chain of collapse and the economic and security repercussions", while Lebanese President Michel Aoun praised yesterday the performance of the security forces , Asking her to distinguish between peaceful protesters and those who said they were rioting.
Al-Hariri said on Twitter: "The continuation of the conduct of business is not the solution. Let us stop wasting time and let the government bear the responsibility."
He added: "Our government resigned in order to move to a new government that deals with popular changes, but the disruption has been going on for 90 days while the country is moving towards the unknown."
Last month, Hassan Diab was tasked with forming the new government with the support of Hezbollah and its allies, but no agreement has been announced yet.
Hariri's comments come after violent confrontations between the security forces and demonstrators, during the past two days, rocked the capital, Beirut.
This is the worst wave of violence since protests against the ruling elite began in October, as hundreds have been injured by security forces using water cannons and rubber bullets to disperse protesters who threw stones at them.
Lebanese politicians have not agreed on a new government or a plan to save the economy since the unrest prompted Hariri to resign from the post of Prime Minister on October 29, undermining efforts to recover from the crisis that weakened confidence in the banking sector, and increased investor fears about the country's ability to meet its obligations to pay Huge external debt.
For his part, President Michel Aoun praised yesterday the performance of the security forces, calling on them to distinguish between peaceful demonstrators and those who said that they are rioting, as Aoun's position came during a meeting with senior security officials in the country, after hundreds of wounded in clashes between elements Security and protesters, downtown Beirut.
The meeting included the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Raya Al-Hassan, the Minister of National Defense, Elias Bou Saab, and the Commander of the Army, General Joseph Aoun, along with other officials.
A statement issued by the security meeting stressed the necessity of "taking the necessary measures to protect peaceful demonstrators and preventing attacks on public and private property", and deterring those described as "sabotage groups that are being inserted among the demonstrators."
Last Saturday, more than 377 people were injured as a result of unprecedented clashes since the outbreak of the demonstrations on October 17, which demand a change in the political class, considering it corrupt and inefficient against the backdrop of an acute economic crisis.
On Saturday and Sunday, security forces in Beirut fired tear gas and rubber bullets, and used water cannons to disperse demonstrators who gathered near the parliament, insisting on storming the council.
The demonstrators threw stones and firecrackers at obstacles created by the security forces to prevent the road leading to Parliament, using tree branches and traffic signs to attack the security forces.
The demonstrators condemn after three months of protests the continuing power deficit in the face of the worsening economic crisis that led to the dismissal of large numbers of people from their jobs, a severe shortage of liquidity, especially the US dollar in light of severe banking restrictions, and the depreciation of the Lebanese currency.
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who have been taking to the streets and squares for two months are calling for the political class to leave the blame for the deteriorating economic situation, accusing them of corruption and the inability to rehabilitate facilities and improve basic public services.
Two weeks after the protests started, Saad Hariri resigned from the premiership. The university professor and former minister, Hassan Diab, was charged with forming a new government that pledged to be miniature and composed of specialists.
Activists on social media criticize the responsibility for the confrontations being blamed on the "pioneers", and some of them have been using it for weeks on the Twitter site and the tag "#I_Mendes".
Rusti warns of attempts to "demonize" the demonstrations
The former Lebanese Minister of Justice, Major General Ashraf Rifi, expressed his full support for the protests taking place and their rightful demands, stressing that "the demonization of the revolution will not benefit the authority, and the revolutionaries have sufficient national immunity and will not fall into such attempts."
"The fastest way for a solution now is through the existing institutions, by accelerating the formation of a government that is completely independent of the existing authority, that manages the affairs of the country, puts an end to the economic collapse and establishes early parliamentary elections," Rifi said to the Lebanese newspaper, "Nida Al-Watan" in its issue issued yesterday.
Rifi called on the deputies of "the future", "the Lebanese forces" and "the battalions", and all the powers in the House of Representatives, who express their opposition to the status quo, to the immediate resignation, in order to be consistent with its positions, because this council lost its full legitimacy and the people said their word in this regard, Being proud no longer works. ” Rifi refused to accuse him of inciting protesters from the north and sending them to demonstrate and the violence that occurred in central Beirut during the past two days.
Beirut - d
Al-Hariri's statements come after violent confrontations between security forces and demonstrators that shook the capital, Beirut.