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Lebanon's Hezbollah, France call for new government

October 31, 2019 at 7:30 pm

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (L) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on 18 November 2017 [Mustafa Yalçın/Anadolu Agency]

Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said on Thursday Saad al-Hariri’s resignation as prime minister would waste the time available for reforms that are widely seen as vital to steering the country out of a deep economic crisis, Reuters reports.

France, which backs Hariri, also called for the quick formation of a new government that can enact urgent reforms.

Hariri resigned on Tuesday, propelled by an unprecedented wave of protests fueled by rising anger at a ruling elite blamed for steering the country towards economic collapse.

“Hariri’s resignation will contribute to wasting the time available to enact the reforms,” Hezbollah said in a televised statement. It also accused the United States of meddling in domestic affairs to spread chaos.

Parliamentarians from the Hezbollah movement called on Lebanon’s central bank to take steps to “guarantee avoiding the monetary situation spiraling out of control”.

Before he resigned, Hariri’s feuding government – which includes Hezbollah – had announced a list of reform plans last week, but these failed to defuse popular anger. The proposals also failed to prod foreign donors to release $11 bln in badly needed aid that they pledged at a Paris conference last year.

READ: How Lebanon’s Hariri defied Hezbollah 

After protests had largely subsided on Wednesday, protesters took to the streets again overnight and on Thursday, with many demonstrators demanding more resignations.

In a separate statement, the heavily armed Hezbollah said it targeted a drone over south Lebanon with “appropriate weapons” on Thursday, forcing it to leave the country’s airspace.

Israel’s military said an anti-aircraft missile was fired from Lebanon at one of its drones but the aircraft was not hit.

Hezbollah had vowed in August to shoot down Israeli drones that violate Lebanon’s airspace on almost daily basis. That came after a suspected Israeli drone attack in a Beirut suburb.

TWO WEEKS OF PROTESTS

Banks, shut for nearly two weeks, are due to reopen on Friday.

Lebanon’s dollar bonds rose for the first time in 10 working days with 2021 maturity debt rising 0.8 cents to 68.5 cents in the dollar, its biggest jump in six weeks.

The bonds have been under huge selling pressure in recent days amid simmering concerns about the government’s ability to meet its debt obligations. At nearly 150 percent of GDP, Lebanon has one of the world’s highest public debt burdens.

President Michel Aoun has formally asked the cabinet to continue in a caretaker role until a new one is formed, as required by Lebanon’s system of government.

READ: Iran’s Khamenei blames US, Israel for chaos in Iraq, Lebanon

A senior official familiar with Hariri’s thinking said he was ready to return as premier of a new Lebanese government on condition it includes technocrats and can quickly implement reforms to stave off economic collapse.

Seeking to restore a semblance of normality, troops and riot police deployed on Thursday morning, reopening roads including a major highway north of Beirut and a bridge in the capital.

“We’ve been on the streets for 14 days. The politicians have been taking this as if nothing’s happening,” said Simon Nehme, a protester at the Ring Bridge in Beirut. “They’re stalling to get us bored and tell us to leave the streets. This won’t happen.”

Lebanon’s army command has said people have the right to protest but only in public squares. Soldiers fired tear gas after clashing with protesters blocking a road on Wednesday night in the Akkar region.

The education minister has called on schools and universities to reopen their doors but in the capital, as well as parts of the north and south of the country, most schools remained shut on Thursday, Reuters witnesses said.