Business Leaders, Syndicate Coordination Committee Push for Solution to Political, Financial Woes

The failure to form a new government helped the Economic Committees and the Syndicate Coordination Committee unite in their demands for a “strong and capable cabinet” which culminated with a nationwide strike on Wednesday and calls for politicians to resolve the country's crises.

The head of the Economic Committees, Adnan Kassar, said at a press conference following a visit to President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace that the success of the general strike confirms the move of the Committees “meets the request of every Lebanese.”

“We urge politicians to give up their interests and overcome their differences to discuss solutions that all the Lebanese are expecting in order to take them to safe shores,” he said.

Kassar vowed the Economic Committees -business leaders and owners of major firms - will take escalatory measures. “We won't remain idle.”

He had earlier told As Safir newspaper that “the strike aimed to send a strong message (to officials) for the quick formation of a strong and effective government.”

Kassar stressed that the strike does not target a certain faction or party.

The “escalatory measures” could include a wider protest and collaboration with civil society “because it is no longer acceptable to remain silent,” he told As Safir.

The Syndicate Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, has joined the business leaders in their demands for the formation of a government that would deal with Lebanon’s economic woes.

Its members held protests near the Education Ministry in Beirut and Serails in different regions under the slogan of the protection of civil peace, national unity and the formation of a capable government.

Hanna Gharib, who is the head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association, said at the education ministry sit-in that the SCC wants a government, which meets the living and economic needs of the people and the country.

“Lebanon will remain united under the slogan of protecting civil peace and the rejection of security incidents,” he said.

He told As Safir that schools are not on strike but their protests are aimed at pushing for parliament's approval of the new wage scale based on a deal that the SCC had reached with Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati.

The unity of the Economic Committees and the SCC in their demands during Wednesday's strike come despite their previous differences on the wage scale.

The strike received a dose of support from Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas, who told al-Joumhouria daily that the “loud cry is aimed at telling everyone that the economy comes first and that the economy is one of the factors of security and political stability in the country.”

“The cry is not targeted at the resigned government,” he said. It is intended to send a message to politicians to be aware of the dangerous situation, he added.