Protesters Hold Central Demo in Beirut to Show 'Unity', Exert 'Pressure'
Lebanon’s anti-corruption protesters were on Sunday flocking to Beirut's Riad al-Solh and Martyrs squares to take part in a central demo dubbed "Sunday of Unity" and "Sunday of Pressure".
As protesters from across Lebanon joined demonstrators in downtown Beirut, the anti-corruption rallies continued in the northern city of Tripoli, the southern city of Tyre, the southern city of Sidon and the Mount Lebanon city of Aley.
Activists had called for a million-strong protest in downtown Beirut.
Other protesters also marched from the southern town of Kfar Rumman towards the city of Nabatiyeh.
Earlier in the day, thousands of Free Patriotic Movement supporters had rallied near the Baabda Palace in support of President Michel Aoun.
Addressing the Baabda demo, Aoun called on citizens to unite behind reforms, after more than two weeks of nationwide anti-graft protests that brought down the government.
Unprecedented cross-sectarian demonstrations have gripped Lebanon since October 17, demanding a complete overhaul of a political system deemed inefficient and corrupt.
The cabinet stepped down on Tuesday, but protesters have said this was not enough.
Along with its allies including powerful Iran-backed party Hizbullah, Aoun's political party holds the majority in parliament.
The FPM is now headed by his son-in-law Jebran Bassil, who has emerged as one of the most reviled figures in the protests.
Before the cabinet resigned on Tuesday, Bassil was foreign minister.
A proposed tax on calls via free phone applications such as WhatsApp triggered protests last month.
But they soon morphed into a huge nationwide movement to denounce a raft of woes including a lack of basic services, a failing economy, and rampant sectarianism.
On Tuesday, prime minister Saad Hariri announced his government would be stepping down.
But it is still unclear what a new cabinet will look like, and if it will include independent technocrats as demanded by demonstrators.
After around two weeks of closure, banks and some schools re-opened this week.
But protesters have vowed to press ahead with their demands.
On Saturday night, thousands of anti-government protesters had flocked together in the impoverished northern city of Tripoli to keep the popular movement alive.
Several said they had traveled to the Sunni-majority city from other parts of the country, inspired by the after-dark street parties that earned it the title "bride of the revolution".
More than 25 percent of Lebanese citizens live in poverty, the World Bank says.
The country's economic growth has stalled in recent years in the wake of repeated political crises, compounded by an eight-year civil war in neighboring Syria.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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