- Title: Lebanon protests swelling with anger and frusration
- Date: 20th October 2019
- Summary: PROTESTERS DANCING BY POSTERS OF IRANIAN AND SHI'ITE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL LEADERS VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC DRIVING AROUND BLOCKADES AND SAND BLOCKING PART OF THE ROADS ROAD BLOCKED WITH TYRES PROTESTER DISTRIBUTING SNACKS TO CARS PASSING BY VARIOUS OF BANNER ON PARTIALLY-BLOCKED ROAD READING (Arabic): 'WE WAITED 30 YEARS. WE WILL WAIT 72 HOURS' TRIPOLI, LEBANON (OCTOBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS GATHERING IN TRIPOLI MALE PROTESTER HOLDING TWO CHILDREN BANNER READING (Arabic): 'RECOVERY OF LOOTED FUNDS' (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) PROTESTER, BASSAM OTHMAN, SAYING: "I came back to Lebanon to live, there's no jobs anymore, I have a daughter, I can't put her in school, can't pay her tuition fees. I can't pay rent. We can't even afford eating bread." VARIOUS OF PROTEST IN PROGRESS IN TRIPOLI (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) PROTESTER, SHEIKH OMAR RIFAI, SAYING: "This is unfair. They promised us general amnesty without any conditions. This was not implemented, they also stole from us, they stole 11 billion (USD) and put them in their pockets, if all the Lebanese people lived from those 11 billion, they would have lived without jobs." WOMEN PROTESTERS CHANTING (Arabic): 'THE PEOPLE WANT TO TOPPLE THE REGIME' VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WAVING LEBANESE FLAGS NABATIEH, LEBANON (OCTOBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS) PROTESTER GESTURING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERED / CHANTING / APPLAUDING
- Embargoed: 3rd November 2019 15:12
- Keywords: economy South Lebanon protests Tripoli Tyre politics Lebanon North Lebanon Nabatieh
- Location: TYRE, TRIPOLI AND NABATIEH, LEBANON
- City: TYRE, TRIPOLI AND NABATIEH, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA003B1WI1JB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Protesters in Lebanon flooded the streets on Sunday (October 20), keeping pressure on Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri as a self-imposed deadline to deliver a package of badly needed reforms for the country's crumbling economy drew near.
Anti-government protests that have swept the country since Thursday (October 17) have pulled together all segments of Lebanese society in an unusually unified call for the downfall of a political elite that protesters blame for plunging the economy into crisis.
On Sunday, demonstrators clogged streets across the country for a fourth day with marches resembling outdoor festivals. Loudspeakers blared nationalistic music as energised protesters chanted calls for the government's fall.
Hariri, who is leading a coalition government mired by sectarian and political rivalries, gave his feuding partners a 72-hour deadline on Friday (October 18) to agree to reforms that could ward off economic crisis, hinting he may otherwise resign. He accused his rivals of obstructing budget measures that could unlock $11 billion in Western donor pledges and help avert economic collapse.
(Production: Hassan Hankir, Karamallah Daher, Aziz Taher, Alaa Kanaan, Yara Abi Nader, Chiara Rodriquez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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