- Title: Lebanon protesters keep pressure on government as reform deadline nears
- Date: 20th October 2019
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER, HANA BITAR, SAYING: "We are living in the midst of garbage and corruption. It is a shame. It's enough, we deserve to be living much better than this.''
- Embargoed: 3rd November 2019 14:01
- Keywords: Lebanon protests Sidon Marjayoun Hasbaya lebanon Southern Lebanon protests
- Location: BEIRUT,SIDON AND MARJAYOUN, LEBANON
- City: BEIRUT,SIDON AND MARJAYOUN, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA00BB1WI0QV
- 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 energized protesters chanted calls for the government's fall.
Hariri gave his feuding coalition 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, Alaa Kanaan, Mohamed Azakir, Ahmed el Kerdi, Yara Abi Nader, Ayat Basma, 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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