Date: Oct 24, 2019 Source: The Daily Star Lebanon: Government seeks solutions as popular uprising enters second week Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star BEIRUT: As anti-government street demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of Lebanese entered their second week Thursday with no letup, the government was scrambling to find solutions to appease the protesters, including a possible Cabinet reshuffle. Meanwhile, a senior U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that Lebanon’s current economic crisis was a “slow train coming.” The Lebanese are “rightfully angered” with their government over its refusal to tackle corruption, the official added, saying the U.S. government supported the people’s right to demonstrate peacefully and their call for action on economic reforms. President Michel Aoun will address the Lebanese Thursday at noon to comment on the massive nationwide street protests that have rocked Lebanon since last week and propose solutions to the impasse that threatens to plunge the country into political turmoil. “President Aoun will explain the street protests and propose solutions to the crisis,” a source at Baabda Palace told The Daily Star. The source refused to say whether Aoun’s proposed solutions to quell the demonstrations included a Cabinet reshuffle or the formation of a new Cabinet. “Let’s wait for the president’s speech,” he said. An official source confirmed Wednesday that “backstage consultations” were ongoing between Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to bolster the Cabinet position in the face of swelling street protests and last week’s resignation of the four Lebanese Forces ministers. “The solution being broached to the Cabinet situation is either by reshuffling the current Cabinet, or the formation of a new one,” the source told The Daily Star. Defying rain Wednesday, thousands of Lebanese, waving national flags, filled streets and squares in Beirut and other cities across the country for the seventh consecutive day, protesting the worsening economic conditions and corruption and renewing their calls for the government’s resignation. Calls for the resignation of the entire political elite, and a demand for the recovery of what protesters call “looted state funds” from politicians have become fixed themes of the demonstrations since the popular uprising erupted on Oct. 17 over government plans to impose new taxes. Berri, who has been targeted by Shiite protesters in his own popular base in the southern cities of Tyre and Nabatieh, warned of the consequences of continued paralysis in state institutions and all sectors in the country as a result of the ongoing protests. “The country cannot endure remaining paralyzed,” Berri was quoted as saying by MPs during his weekly meeting with lawmakers at his Ain al-Tineh residence. Berri, according to MP Ali Bazzi, who belongs to the speaker’s parliamentary bloc, voiced fears of the country sliding into a “power vacuum” if the protests persisted. Berri said he had signed the draft 2020 state budget and sent it to Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee to begin discussions and later ratify it before the end of the year, as stipulated by the Constitution. The Cabinet Monday approved a raft of unprecedented economic reforms and endorsed the draft budget with a projected deficit of 0.6 percent of gross domestic product in hopes of placating the protesters. However, Hariri’s economic rescue plan, which excluded new taxes and included privatizations and 50 percent salary cuts for presidents, ministers and lawmakers, failed to satisfy the protesters, who dismissed it as insufficient and renewed calls for the government’s resignation, the end of Aoun’s mandate and the return of “looted money.”While praising the government’s economic blueprint, Berri stressed that what mattered was its implementation. He renewed his call for the establishment of a “civilian state” to replace the sectarian-based ruling system. Berri met Wednesday with a delegation of Progressive Socialist Party ministers and lawmakers who embarked on a flurry of activity aiming to promote a proposal for a Cabinet change, a key demand of the protesters. The PSP delegation, including Industry Minister Wael Abu Faour and Education Minister Akram Chehayeb, also visited Hariri and met with Hezbollah officials for the same purpose. None of the delegation members spoke to reporters after these meetings. But a source close to the delegation told The Daily Star that the consultations with Berri, Hariri and Hezbollah were intended to cause “a positive shock” to appease the protesters. “This shock can be achieved either by reshuffling the Cabinet or the resignation of the Cabinet and the formation of a technocrat government,” the source said. PSP leader Walid Joumblatt renewed his support for a Cabinet reshuffle. “A change in the current ministerial portfolios will lead to getting rid of the tyranny of some movements,” Joumblatt said in an interview with the Arabic Sky News network. In a tweet Tuesday, Joumblatt criticized the Cabinet’s economic reforms and called for a government reshuffle in order to “take out the symbols of tyranny and corruption.” He was implicitly referring to Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, who had been accused by his opponents of corruption and monopolizing power. Hariri chaired a meeting of the ministerial committee tasked with proposing financial and economic reforms at his Beirut Downtown residence. “The committee studied a draft law on the recovery of looted public money and decided to request suggestions on this matter from the Supreme Judicial Council within a period of 10 days,” a statement from Hariri’s media office said. It added that it instructed the Beirut and North Lebanon Bar Associations to organize a workshop within 10 days and take the views of lawyers, including from civil society, with the participation of the Justice Ministry. Fighting corruption in the public administration and recovering looted public money are two key elements in Hariri’s economic rescue blueprint. Meanwhile, top Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders weighed in on the street protests, calling on the state to act to meet the protesters’ demands. Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai voiced his support for the protesters, while calling on Aoun to launch talks with the country’s various political sides to take action in response to the people’s demands. Speaking at a news conference at the seat of the Maronite Church in Bkirki, Rai described the Cabinet’s reforms as a “good first step.” “The government persisted in corruption and deviation, prompting the people to rise up,” Rai said. A statement issued after a meeting of Maronite bishops chaired by Rai in Bkirki called for a government reshuffle. Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Latif Derian also expressed support for the protesters’ demands and hopes that the reforms would be the beginning of necessary changes. “Dar al-Fatwa calls on [all] officials to look positively at the demands of the Lebanese people, who have been reeling under the burdens of the deteriorating economic and financial conditions,” Derian said in a statement. He added that Dar al-Fatwa called on the state to work to regain people’s trust. As street protests dragged on, Lebanese banks will remain closed Thursday for the seventh day in a row, the Association of Banks in Lebanon announced Wednesday. Major universities also announced that they would remain closed until further notice. So far, the universities that have announced indefinite closures include the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese American University and Notre Dame University. Banks and schools have been closed since Friday, a day after the eruption of street protests.