Hundreds Protest Outside American Embassy
BEIRUT (Kayhan Intl.) – Hundreds of people demonstrated Sunday near the U.S. Embassy outside Beirut against what they are calling America’s intervention in Lebanon’s affairs.
Lebanese troops and riot police employed tight security measures near the embassy northeast of the city. The protesters later dispersed without any reports of violence.
Protesters have been holding demonstrations in Lebanon since Oct. 17, demanding an end to widespread corruption and mismanagement by the political class that has ruled the country for three decades.
Participants in the Sunday protest burned Israeli and U.S. flags and held signs, condemning intervention by foreign embassies.
Jeffrey Feltman, the undersecretary of the U.S. State Department who also serves as Washington's ambassador to Lebanon, had recently spoken about a possible civil war if the Lebanese armed forces resorted to disarming the Hezbollah resistance movement by force.
Speaking in an interview with Reuters on Friday, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem called the United States the most prominent obstacle lying in the way of formation of a government in Lebanon.
"The first obstruction in the formation of the government is America, because it wants a government that resembles it and we want a government that resembles the Lebanese people,” he said.
U.S. officials had been in direct contact with Lebanese politicians and officials, Sheikh Qassem noted, saying, "Let them leave us alone so we can reach an understanding among ourselves. The more they intervene the more they delay the solution.”
On November 13, a high-ranking Hezbollah official warned that the United States and its allies in the Middle East were taking advantage of the anti-government protests in the country in order to attain their own political objectives.
Vice President of the Executive Council of Hezbollah Sheikh Ali Damoush said the resistance movement distinguishes between the righteous demands of protesters and the political schemes of those who are exploiting the mass protest movement to achieve their own goals.
"It is wrong to confuse the sufferings of people and their real demands with the political projects, which seek to take advantage of the state of corruption in the country."
"It is now clear that the United States and its allies have infiltrated into the ranks of the protest movement, and are trying to guide it. They have a political plot that they want to impose on Lebanon. The economic and corruption issues in Lebanon are their last concerns," Damoush said.
On October 29, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri submitted his resignation to President Michel Aoun. Under the constitution, Hariri’s cabinet would stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.
The protests began on October 17, when the government proposed imposing a tax on Whatsapp calls, along with other austerity measures.
Protesters in Lebanon have stopped blocking roads and setting up barricades, and instead shifted to holding sit-ins at state-affiliated sites.
They say they will maintain pressure on the political establishment until their demands for the departure of the ruling elite and an end to chronic economic mismanagement and corruption are met.
Growth in Lebanon has plummeted in the wake of endless political deadlocks and an economic crisis in recent years.
The country hosts 1.5 million Syrian refugees, and their presence is often blamed for putting pressure on the already struggling economy. Unemployment stands at more than 20 percent, according to official figures.
The Lebanese Finance Ministry says the national debt is hovering around $85 billion, which accounts for more than 150 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Successive governments have failed to address a waste management crisis or improve the electricity grid, which is plagued by daily power cuts.
Lebanese troops and riot police employed tight security measures near the embassy northeast of the city. The protesters later dispersed without any reports of violence.
Protesters have been holding demonstrations in Lebanon since Oct. 17, demanding an end to widespread corruption and mismanagement by the political class that has ruled the country for three decades.
Participants in the Sunday protest burned Israeli and U.S. flags and held signs, condemning intervention by foreign embassies.
Jeffrey Feltman, the undersecretary of the U.S. State Department who also serves as Washington's ambassador to Lebanon, had recently spoken about a possible civil war if the Lebanese armed forces resorted to disarming the Hezbollah resistance movement by force.
Speaking in an interview with Reuters on Friday, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem called the United States the most prominent obstacle lying in the way of formation of a government in Lebanon.
"The first obstruction in the formation of the government is America, because it wants a government that resembles it and we want a government that resembles the Lebanese people,” he said.
U.S. officials had been in direct contact with Lebanese politicians and officials, Sheikh Qassem noted, saying, "Let them leave us alone so we can reach an understanding among ourselves. The more they intervene the more they delay the solution.”
On November 13, a high-ranking Hezbollah official warned that the United States and its allies in the Middle East were taking advantage of the anti-government protests in the country in order to attain their own political objectives.
Vice President of the Executive Council of Hezbollah Sheikh Ali Damoush said the resistance movement distinguishes between the righteous demands of protesters and the political schemes of those who are exploiting the mass protest movement to achieve their own goals.
"It is wrong to confuse the sufferings of people and their real demands with the political projects, which seek to take advantage of the state of corruption in the country."
"It is now clear that the United States and its allies have infiltrated into the ranks of the protest movement, and are trying to guide it. They have a political plot that they want to impose on Lebanon. The economic and corruption issues in Lebanon are their last concerns," Damoush said.
On October 29, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri submitted his resignation to President Michel Aoun. Under the constitution, Hariri’s cabinet would stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.
The protests began on October 17, when the government proposed imposing a tax on Whatsapp calls, along with other austerity measures.
Protesters in Lebanon have stopped blocking roads and setting up barricades, and instead shifted to holding sit-ins at state-affiliated sites.
They say they will maintain pressure on the political establishment until their demands for the departure of the ruling elite and an end to chronic economic mismanagement and corruption are met.
Growth in Lebanon has plummeted in the wake of endless political deadlocks and an economic crisis in recent years.
The country hosts 1.5 million Syrian refugees, and their presence is often blamed for putting pressure on the already struggling economy. Unemployment stands at more than 20 percent, according to official figures.
The Lebanese Finance Ministry says the national debt is hovering around $85 billion, which accounts for more than 150 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Successive governments have failed to address a waste management crisis or improve the electricity grid, which is plagued by daily power cuts.
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