Well accelerate!

2.5 million Lebanots continue the anti -corruption rally for the second week, the army supported the protesters, the president’s days are unchanged

The second week in Lebanon, anti -corruption rallies continue. According to various estimates, about 2.5 million people rally throughout the country, despite the fact that the population of Lebanon is 4 million.

Protests do not subside either day or night. People spend the night in tents or in the open air (at night at this time of the year about 30 degrees), on city squares, avenues and motorways between cities. Owners of grocery stores and cafes, as well as ordinary citizens organized a free distribution of food, have institutes. Musicians and ordinary participants in the protest are performed from the scenes: politicians do not put any parties on these scenes.

The work of state institutions, schools, universities, banks was suspended. Many shops, shopping centers are closed.

In many countries, pickets have passed in support of the Lebanese rally.

The people took to the streets after on October 17, following the discussion of the budget draft for 2020, the Minister of Communications Muhammad Schkeir said that the country will introduce a tax on the Whatsapp messenger. This would allow you to attract about $ 200 million to the revenue part of the budget. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, mobile communications are the most expensive in the world. Calls through the messenger make it possible to save. After the government encroached on this opportunity, the country got on its hind legs.

By the end of the first day of protest, the initial requirements for the abolition of the new tax were fused into the background. Now protesters demanded the resignation of the president, the cabinet, and the dissolution of the parliament - due to total corruption. At first, the spot riots broke out at first - the army sided with the protesters: now the army units are essentially guarding rallies.

Over the past week, four members of the Cabinet of Ministers went on voluntary resignation. All of them are members of the Christian Party "Lebanese Forces". Others remain in their places, like the president and parliament. The people also do not leave the squares.

Livana Michel Aun, President of the whole week, refused public comments about what was happening in the country, and on Thursday morning it was announced that at 12 days he would turn to the people. But the straight line did not take place: at first they announced the transfer, and then on the air of the television channels, they put a hastily mounted recording of the president’s speech. The monologue, cast -up from pieces, obviously recorded at different times, did not report anything new, except that the president is not going to go anywhere, although he supports the requirements of protesters regarding the fight against corrupt officials in the country's leadership.

The meaningless, confused speech of the 85-year-old Michel Aun gave rise to many questions: in what condition does the head of state abide?

Can he lead the country? And who leads the country if the aun itself can no longer do this?

The President of the aun has been in his chair relatively recently - since October 2016. In the eighties, during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, he was the commander of the Lebanese army, in 1990 he fled to France, from where he continued to criticize the presence of the Syrians in the territory of Lebanon.

Syrian troops left Lebanon in 2005, shortly after, Aun returned to his homeland, elected to parliament and offered his candidacy for the president’s position, but the parliament could not approve him in this capacity for 2.5 years. It is interesting that after returning to Lebanon, Aun seriously reviewed his own views on the relationship between Lebanon and Syria and began to actively promote the idea of ​​establishing relations with the Assad regime. Actually, his statement in the presidential position was held only thanks to Hezbollah and Amal - Shiite parties in the Lebanese parliament, which are historically close to the Syrian leadership. These days, Amal and Hezbollah repay their duty: in fact, these are the only forces that, against the backdrop of protest, performed in support of the president.

And this support is worth a lot: Shiite parties have their own armed armies. For Hezbollah, this is an army with impressive experience in armed conflicts: in Syria, on the side of Assad and Iran, in the south of Lebanon - against Israel. (Hezbollah, financed by Iran, in many countries of the world is recognized as a terrorist organization, but in Russia it is not considered such, despite the long -standing difficult history of relations, including an episode with the abduction and murder of Soviet diplomats).

Over the past week there were several clashes between the supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal - and the protesters, among which Syrian refugees with anti -Asadian slogans have already appeared. (Officially, Lebanon accepted about one and a half million refugees from neighboring warring Syria). Each time the Lebanese army extinguished these clashes.

By the way, the current commander of the Lebanese Army Joseph Aun (the President’s Nonfamic) by Lebanese political scientists is considered as the most likely contender for the presidential chair in case of resignation of the current president. According to the Lebanese Constitution, only Christian-Maronite Christian (Prime Minister is Sunnit, the speaker of the parliament is the president of the country). The parliament approves the president. Joseph Aun is Maronite, a public figure, which has won the support of representatives of all religions in this protest. The newly elected parliament (and the fact that the old parliament will resign, no one in Lebanon doubts) will not be a chance not to support the people's favorite.