- Title: LEBANON-POLITICS Lebanese Christian party rallies against PM
- Date: 9th July 2015
- Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (JULY 9, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERING IN FRONT OF FREE PATRIOTIC MOVEMENT (FPM) HEADQUARTERS SIGN READING (Arabic): "FREE PATRIOTIC MOVEMENT - GENERAL SECRETARIAT" PROTESTER WEARING T-SHIRT READING (Arabic): "AOUN, THE DIGNITY OF PEOPLE" VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WEARING T-SHIRTS READING (Arabic): "WE DO NOT BOW BUT TO THE CREATOR" PROTESTERS
- Embargoed: 24th July 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Lebanon
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA5T1ANESSTZMEUQBX2XU10CB72
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hundreds of supporters of a Lebanese Christian politician protested in Beirut on Thursday (July 9) against the Sunni prime minister they claim is marginalising Christian influence.
Michel Aoun accuses Prime Minister Tammam Salam of taking decisions without cross-party consensus and usurping powers reserved for the president - a post set aside for a Christian but vacant since last year due to the wider political crisis.
Aoun's critics, including other Christian leaders, say his motivation is personal. A presidential hopeful, he wants his son-in-law, Brigadier-General Shamel Roukoz, appointed as army chief when the job needs filling in September.
Aoun, 80, is an ally of Hezbollah, a powerful Lebanese Shi'ite group backed by Iran that is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Hezbollah has said it backs Aoun's political position, but is not taking part in the rally.
Balance and consensus has kept Lebanon stable since the 1975-1990 civil war but has also frequently led to paralysis. Under the system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the Parliament speaker a Shi'ite.
Supporters of Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) waved its orange flag as groups on foot and in cars honking horns made their way towards the Grand Serail government headquarters in central Beirut, where Salam was holding a cabinet meeting.
"We, at the youth sector in the Free Patriotic Movement, are gathering today asking for our rights as Christians, wasted since 1992 till today," said one of FPM supporters, Georges El-Khoury.
The army had blocked roads using armoured vehicles and metal barriers as the protesters chanted and took pictures on their smartphones. Soldiers watched in the shade.
"Why are we here? Because of our Christian existence. Not for a presidency or anything else, the reason we are here for today is our existence because it is threatened," Lebanese protester, Bilal Ghorayeb, told Reuters.
"Our rights are wasted. They consider us, be it in the government or the parliament, as a vase that they put wherever they want. For them, we don't have a say or opinion, as if we are not present," added another protester, Patricia Karam, who had FPM's flag wrapped around her head.
All of the main political parties, including the Saudi-backed Future Movement of Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, are represented in the Salam cabinet.
The cabinet was formed last year after the country spent 10 months without a government.
The government's existence has spared Lebanon a complete vacuum in the executive arm, helping shield it from further fall-out from the four-year-long Syrian war that has driven more than one million refugees over the border into Lebanon.
Political sources in parties allied to Aoun said his ministers would not resign, even as one of them threatened further escalation.
While rivalry between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran has helped to fuel conflict in the region, their allies in Lebanon have sought to contain tensions.
Hezbollah and Future are holding regular talks to help do that. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None