A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For January 25-26/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 101th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
January 26/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 25-26/2020
Maronite Blinded and Escariotic leaders With idol-Derailed Worshipers/Elias Bejjani/January 24/2020
Protesters Hit Beirut Streets to Mark 100 Days of Demos
Lebanese protesters rally downtown despite enhanced security
Lebanese Security Fire Water Cannons at Protesters Breaching Barricade
Revolution Fist’ in Nabatieh Set Ablaze
Schenker Says US ‘Watching’ Govt. Performance
Report: U.S. Assistance for Lebanon Conditional for Reform
Lebanon central bank reassures foreign investors about deposits
Finance Minister Meets IMF Official
Macron congratulates Aoun on Lebanon’s new government: We hope it will work to achieve the aspirations of the Lebanese
Presidency Information Office calls on media outlets to refer to it when circulating Aoun’s statements
Diab chairs meeting of ministerial statement drafting committee
Abdel Samad: Ministerial Statement Committee will intensify its sessions to finalize statement soon
Sami Gemayel: Early parliamentary elections are the solution for the people to regain their decision
Health Minister at Beirut Airport to follow up on Corona virus preventive measures
Dar el-Fatwa Did Not Ask Fahmi to ‘Reject’ Portfolio
Lebanon: Hariri Reminds Aoun of his ‘Protectorates’
Lebanon has 28 days to present rescue plan/Najia Houssari/Arab News/January 25/2020
Breaking down a Lebanese haircut/Leila El Sayed/Annahar/January 25/2020
AMCD Supports Withholding US Aid to Lebanon/January 25/2020
Hezbollah-backed Lebanon government should beware of the US/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/January 25/2020
Hezbollah will find the urgent Lebanese priorities are clashing with its regional loyalties/Michael Young/The National/January 25/2020
Lebanon at a turning point/Dr. Nasser Saidi/Al Arabiya/January 25/2020
Hezbollah gets its way with new Lebanese government/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/January 25/2020
Details Of The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorial published on January 25-26/2020
Maronite Blinded and Escariotic leaders With idol-Derailed Worshipers
Elias Bejjani/January 24/2020
Leadership wise, we, the Maronites, are currently orphans in both religious and political domains. Our childish and marginalized present leaders are totally detached from every thing that is a requirement and gifts for leadership, Lebanese identity, faith, self respect, planning, vision, conscience, principles, and self-respect. Sadly they are a bunch of greedy , self-centred, narcissistic and iscariot creatures blinded by their earthly hunger for power and money. No hopes what so ever for our people at any level in their presence and influence…replacing them is an urgent obligation and a must.
Protesters Hit Beirut Streets to Mark 100 Days of Demos
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 25/2020
Hundreds of people hit the streets of the Lebanese capital on Saturday to mark 100 days of anti-government demonstrations and denounce a new cabinet line-up. Protests demanding the removal of politicians deemed incompetent and corrupt have gripped Lebanon since October 17 and forced the resignation of the government. A new cabinet was announced on Tuesday after a three-month vacuum. But protesters say the ministers were chosen along sectarian lines and that the line-up does not satisfy their demands for a government of independents and technocrats.
On Saturday, several marches were held in Beirut under the slogan “No trust”, with protesters converging on the city centre. Demonstrators chanted “Revolution, Revolution” under the watchful gaze of security forces, who were deployed in high numbers. The protest movement has largely been peaceful since it began more than three months ago, but has turned violent in recent weeks. “The government (formed on Tuesday) is not the one we have been seeking,” demonstrator Perla Maalouli said in central Beirut. “We demand a salvation government… not one whose members are selected according to (sectarian) quotas”, which the protest movement had mobilised against, she said. Apportioning positions between Lebanon’s main Christian, Sunni and Shiite communities has been key to forming governments since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Maalouli said politicians had failed to heed the protest campaign. “After 100 days (of demonstrations), they continue to do as they please, as if the people have not spoken,” she said. The new government, headed by academic Hassan Diab, faces huge economic and political challenges. Lebanon has one of the world’s highest debt-to-GDP ratios and economists have argued it is hard to see how the near-bankrupt country could repay its creditors. The Lebanese pound has lost over a third of its value against the dollar in the parallel market and banks are tightening restrictions on dollar transactions amid a liquidity crunch. The economic downturn has raised questions over whether Lebanon will turn to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout, an option the government has yet to comment on, but which some officials regard as inevitable. Earlier Saturday, the new Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni met with a senior IMF official in Beirut, a day after holding talks with a World Bank delegation. The new premier Diab on Wednesday warned that Lebanon faces an economic “catastrophe”, but has pledged that his government will strive to meet the protesters’ demands.
Lebanese protesters rally downtown despite enhanced security
Associated Press/January 25/2020
After more than 100 days of nationwide protesting against the country’s political class, Lebanese are divided over whether to continue protesting or give the new Cabinet a chance as the country faces its most dire economic crisis in decades.
BEIRUT: Hundreds of Lebanese gathered outside Beirut’s central government building Saturday to reject the newly formed Cabinet. Protesters breached tight security around the building, removing a metal gate and barbed wire and prompting security forces to respond with water cannon and tear gas. The protesters say the new Cabinet formed this week represents a corrupt long-serving political class they have been protesting against since October. Dozens pulled at barbed wire and a metal gate erected between them and security forces guarding the central government building, known as the Serail. They hurled stones and firecrackers at security forces, who used water cannon and tear gas to push rioters back. Hundreds of other protesters filled the street leading to the building. Blast walls and large cement blocks had been erected behind the barbed wire and soldiers stood on alert a few meters (yards) away. Some protesters scaled those walls and taunted the soldiers. One waved a large Lebanese flag.After nearly an hour of clashes, protesters managed to breach the metal gate further. Security forces fired tear gas and then chased the protesters out of the area with intense volleys of tear gas.
A man carrying a toddler stood in front of security forces with a raised hand, screaming at security and protesters alike to stop. But he was sprayed with a stream of water, spurring a journalist to run and grab the shaken little girl from his arms and sprint away. The clashes stopped briefly.
Central Beirut has metamorphosed into a security zone as riot police and soldiers have been heavily deployed, barricades and checkpoints erected. Security measures prevented protesters from reaching the parliament area down the street, which has become a flash point in recent days for confrontations between protesters and security. Many shops in the area were installing metal sheets over their windows after clashes left some damaged.
The crowd congregated in central Beirut after a day of peaceful marches through different areas of the capital dubbed “No Confidence.” Hundreds of protesters urged people to join their rallies. After a new government was formed Tuesday, security forces installed new barriers and metal gates around official buildings and beefed up their presence. After more than 100 days of nationwide protesting against the country’s political class, Lebanese are divided over whether to continue protesting or give the new Cabinet a chance as the country faces its most dire economic crisis in decades.
Protesters on Saturday said the new government is a continuation of the old system. Although it is made up of experts, it still reflects the powerful political class that has dominated the country since the 1975-1990 civil war. “They are the same people,” one man shouted to a local TV station.
The new government is backed by the militant Hezbollah group and its allies who dominate the current parliament, elected in 2018. But other powerful parties, including that of resigned prime minister Saad Hariri and two Christian parties, are not represented.
The peaceful, jubilant protests that characterized the first three months of the uprising have turned violent and a worsening financial crisis is taking its toll. Many protesters Saturday sought to distance themselves from the violence, some chanting: “Our protest is peaceful.”
More than 400 protesters and 100 security forces were injured over two nights of clashes last weekend outside the parliament building. Protesters hurled stones, firecrackers and flares at security forces who responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon.
Lebanese Security Fire Water Cannons at Protesters Breaching Barricade
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 January, 2020
Hundreds of Lebanese gathered outside Beirut’s central government building Saturday to reject the newly formed cabinet. Protesters breached tight security around the building, removing a metal gate and barbed wire and prompting security forces to respond with water cannon and tear gas.
The protesters say the new cabinet formed this week represents a corrupt long-serving political class they have been protesting against since October. Dozens pulled at barbed wire and a metal gate erected between them and security forces guarding the central government building, known as the Grand Serail. They hurled stones and firecrackers at security forces, who used water cannon and tear gas to push rioters back. Hundreds of other protesters filled the street leading to the building. Blast walls and large cement blocks had been erected behind the barbed wire and soldiers stood on alert a few meters away. Some protesters scaled those walls and taunted the soldiers. One waved a large Lebanese flag. After nearly an hour of clashes, protesters managed to breach the metal gate further. Security forces fired tear gas and then chased the protesters out of the area with intense volleys of tear gas. A man carrying a toddler stood in front of security forces with a raised hand, screaming at security and protesters alike to stop. But he was sprayed with a stream of water, spurring a journalist to run and grab the shaken little girl from his arms and sprint away. The clashes stopped briefly.
Central Beirut has metamorphosed into a security zone as riot police and soldiers have been heavily deployed, barricades and checkpoints erected. Security measures prevented protesters from reaching the parliament area down the street, which has become a flashpoint in recent days for confrontations between protesters and security. Many shops in the area were installing metal sheets over their windows after clashes left some damaged.
The crowd congregated in central Beirut after a day of peaceful marches through different areas of the capital dubbed “No Confidence.” Hundreds of protesters urged people to join their rallies. After a new government was formed Tuesday, security forces installed new barriers and metal gates around official buildings and beefed up their presence. After more than 100 days of nationwide protesting against the country’s political class, Lebanese are divided over whether to continue protesting or give the new cabinet a chance as the country faces its most dire economic crisis in decades.
Protesters on Saturday said the new government is a continuation of the old system. Although it is made up of experts, it still reflects the powerful political class that has dominated the country since the 1975-1990 civil war. “They are the same people,” one man shouted to a local TV station.
The new government is backed by the Hezbollah party and its allies who dominate the current parliament, elected in 2018. But other powerful parties, including that of resigned prime minister Saad Hariri, the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb parties, are not represented.
The peaceful, jubilant protests that characterized the first three months of the uprising have turned violent and a worsening financial crisis is taking its toll. Many protesters Saturday sought to distance themselves from the violence, some chanting: “Our protest is peaceful.”
More than 400 protesters and 100 security forces were injured over two nights of clashes last weekend outside the parliament building. Protesters hurled stones, firecrackers and flares at security forces who responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon.
Revolution Fist’ in Nabatieh Set Ablaze
Naharnet/January 25/2020
A “fist of the revolution” unveiled on Friday in the southern town of Nabatieh was set on fire on Saturday, the National News Agency said. NNA said unknown assailants torched it at midnight. Anti-government protesters unveiled the statue during a ceremony to commemorate 100 days since the beginning of the October 17 popular uprising. The ceremony was held amid tight security measures taken by the army and Internal Security Forces, as supporters of Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement staged a rival demo at the location, chanting slogans supportive of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Speaker Nabih Berri. A representative of the Hizbullah and AMAL supporters said their demo was not aimed at “stirring a problem with the protest movement or anyone else.” “But these people are provoking us by raising this fist in Nabatieh. This city only raises the fist of Imam Hussein and Nabatieh expelled the occupiers and offered martyrs and will not accept such a symbol, a symbol of the international masonic movement. It should be removed and we will not accept that it stays in its place,” the spokesman said.
Schenker Says US ‘Watching’ Govt. Performance
Naharnet/January 25/2020
The United States is closely “monitoring” the work of the new government in Lebanon, formed after three months of jubilant protests and a worsening financial crisis, United States-based satellite TV channel Alhurra reported on Saturday. In an interview on Alhurra, David Shencker, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs said: “The US is going to closely observe whether the new government in Lebanon is committed to eradicate corruption and lead the country out of its financial crisis.”The US official did not elaborate. A new government was formed in Lebanon on Tuesday, and protesters — even though they’ve rejected it as a rubber stamp for traditional political parties — are now split over whether to continue protesting or withdraw from the streets to give the new Cabinet a chance. Another point of division among the Lebanese protesters has been over tactics. Many are frustrated with the frequent roadblocks that have occurred throughout the country. For the past week, a few hundred protesters have engaged in some of the most violent confrontations with security forces in the capital. More than 500 people, including over 100 security forces, were injured in nightly clashes outside the parliament building. Protesters hurled stones, firecrackers, flares and a few Molotov cocktails at security forces who responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons. Several protesters were hit in their eyes and at least two protesters were partially blinded.
Report: U.S. Assistance for Lebanon Conditional for Reform
Naharnet/January 25/2020
A U.S. official in Lebanon reportedly said “no one wants to see the country fall” and that assistance for the crisis-hit nation is closely related to its implementation of the needed reforms, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday. “No one in the world wants to bring down Lebanon or wants to see this nation fall, but we rather want to extend help which depends on the reforms that must be taken and a clear plan in this context, as well as a clear economic vision,” the daily quoted a US official as telling a group of lawmakers in Lebanon. Similarly, the representative of the World Bank had earlier expressed willingness to assist Lebanon, provided that the required and urgent reforms are undertaken, which were also emphasized by the United Nations Representative in Lebanon, Jan Kubis, stated the daily. Kubis had stressed in a statement that Lebanon’s “government needs to implement a meaningful reform package, to break with the corrupt practices of the past, to promote justice, transparency, and accountability. “Only following such approach would make it possible to gain confidence of the people, that is currently wanting. It is important to give the government a chance. He further observed that “if the government’s actions are attuned to the thinking, the demands and the aspirations of the people, that would be helpful, also to mobilize international support.”
Lebanon central bank reassures foreign investors about deposits
Arab News/January 25/2020
Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor asked if there was any risk to dollar deposits/The heavily indebted country’s crisis has shaken confidence in banks
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s central bank said on Saturday there would be no “haircut” on deposits at banks due to the country’s financial crisis, responding to concerns voiced by a UAE businessman about risks to foreign investments there. Emirati Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor, founder of the Al-Habtoor Group that has two hotels in Beirut, posted a video of himself on his official Twitter account asking Lebanon’s central bank governor if there was any risk to dollar deposits of foreign investors and whether there could be any such haircut.“The declared policy of the Central Bank of Lebanon is not to bankrupt any bank thus preserving the depositors. Also the law in Lebanon doesn’t allow haircut,” the Banque Du Liban (BDL) said in a Twitter post addressed to Al-Habtoor, from Governor Riad Salameh. “BDL is providing the liquidity needed by banks in both Lebanese pound and dollars, but under one condition that the dollars lent by BDL won’t be transferred abroad.” “All funds received by Lebanese banks from abroad after November 17th are free to be transferred out,” it added on its official Twitter account. The heavily indebted country’s crisis has shaken confidence in banks and raised concerns over its ability to repay one of the world’s highest levels of public debt. Seeking to prevent capital flight as hard currency inflows slowed and anti-government protests erupted, banks have been imposing informal controls on access to cash and transfers abroad since last October. A new government was formed this week, and its main task is to tackle the dire financial crisis that has seen the Lebanese pound weaken against the dollar. Al-Habtoor had asked Salameh for clarity for Arab investors concerned about the crisis and those thinking of transferring funds to Lebanon to try to “help the brotherly Lebanese.”
Finance Minister Meets IMF Official
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 25/2020
The new finance minister of debt-saddled Lebanon met on Saturday with an official from the International Monetary Fund for what he said was a “courtesy visit” and not bailout talks. Ghazi Wazni’s meeting with IMF alternative executive director Sami Geadah came as Lebanon grapples with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. The meeting served to “congratulate Lebanon on the formation of a new government,” Wazni said on Twitter afterwards. He had told AFP earlier that it was “a courtesy visit… to get to know the IMF team”. “The discussions will not focus on an economic rescue plan, which is being prepared (separately) inside government,” he added. It follows a meeting on Friday between Wazni and a delegation from the World Bank led by its regional director Saroj Kumar Jha. Wazni assumed the post of finance minister on Tuesday with the formation of a long-awaited cabinet that faces huge economic and political challenges. The previous government resigned on October 29, two weeks into a nationwide protest movement demanding the removal of politicians deemed incompetent and corrupt. Wazni comes into the post at a time when the plummeting Lebanon pound has lost over a third of its value against the dollar in the parallel market. Lebanese banks are tightening restrictions on dollar transactions amid a liquidity crunch. The economic downturn has raised questions over whether Lebanon will turn to the IMF for a bailout — an option the government has yet to comment on but which some officials regard as inevitable. Last month, former prime minister Saad Hariri discussed a possible economic rescue plan with the heads of the IMF and the World Bank, further fuelling speculation of a bailout. If Lebanon does turn to the IMF it may have to increase its value-added tax, slash subsidies to the state-owned electricity company, tackle rampant corruption and enact a raft of structural reforms, according to previous IMF recommendations.
Macron congratulates Aoun on Lebanon’s new government: We hope it will work to achieve the aspirations of the Lebanese
NNA/January 25/2020
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received a phone call this afternoon from French President Emmanuel Macron, congratulating him on the new government formation and stressing his country’s support for Lebanon in preserving its unity and stability. President Macron expressed his hope that the new government will work to fulfill the aspirations of the Lebanese, to implement the reforms that Lebanon had previously pledged to undertake at the Cedar Conference. In turn, President Aoun thanked his French counterpart for the interest he showed towards Lebanon, briefing him on the country’s current conditions and stressing that work is underway to address these conditions in a way that would serve the interest of the Lebanese people and their unity, and revive the country’s economy. The phone call between both Presidents was also a chance to dwell on the general situation prevailing in Lebanon and the region, and the French efforts made to assist Lebanon in all fields.
Presidency Information Office calls on media outlets to refer to it when circulating Aoun’s statements
NNA/January 25/2020
The Lebanese Presidency Information Office issued a press release on Saturday, stressing the need to refer to it when circulating any statements pertaining to President Michel Aoun. “The Press Office urges the media to return to it to verify any position attributed to the President to preserve the credibility and accuracy of the news, as leaks, rumors and fabricated news abound for reasons that are not hidden to anyone,” the statement said. “Any statement that is not issued by the President directly or through the Presidency Information Office, cannot be taken into account or relied upon and promoted,” the statement emphasized.
Diab chairs meeting of ministerial statement drafting committee
NNA/January 25/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab, chaired Saturday afternoon at the Grand Serail the third meeting by the committee tasked to draft the ministerial statement.
Abdel Samad: Ministerial Statement Committee will intensify its sessions to finalize statement soon
NNA/January 25/2020
Minister of Information, Manal Abdel Samad, announced this afternoon that the ministerial committee tasked with drafting the ministerial statement will continue its work next week and intensify its sessions to finalize the cabinet’s statement. “The Ministerial Committee tasked with drafting the ministerial statement resumed its meetings, headed by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, in its third session on Saturday, after holding two consecutive sessions yesterday that extended until 8:00 p.m.,” said Abdel Samad. “In today’s meeting, PM Diab commended the spirit prevailing among the Committee members, the vitality of the discussions and the substantive suggestions made during the sessions, while calling for intensifying the sessions to complete the statement as soon as possible,” she added. Abdel Samad indicated that the Committee heard a briefing at the beginning of today’s session by Finance Ministry Director General Alain Bifani on the country’s financial status, after which it continued with discussing the ministerial statement’s content and approved the structure of a number of items. In response to a question, the Information Minister said: “We are currently in the process of developing the first draft of the ministerial statement, which relates to the economy and other issues, and it is certain that this is one of the priorities of the government’s work.” Asked whether the government’s statement will differ from the statements of previous cabinets on challenging political issues, the Minister reiterated that the Committee is still in the discussion stage, “and therefore we cannot discuss the final decision as long as it has not yet been taken.” She added: “We are still in the first proposal phase, but as a matter of fact we give priority to these issues.”Abdel Samad disclosed that the Committee members will continue to work till a late hour today, and will resume their meeting upcoming Monday. “At this speed, the statement is supposed to be issued soon,” she asserted.
Sami Gemayel: Early parliamentary elections are the solution for the people to regain their decision
NNA/January 25/2020
Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel, wrote on Twitter this evening, saying: “The previous government was one of allocated quotas, the current government is one of quotas as well…The previous government set a budget of oddities, the current government is adopting the budget of oddities…The Parliament Council is staging behind the wall of shame, the wall of shame is rising and Lebanon is rebelling…!””Early parliamentary elections are the sole solution to get back the people’s decision and initiative across institutions,” Gemayel underlined.
Health Minister at Beirut Airport to follow up on Corona virus preventive measures
NNA/January 25/2020
Minister of Public Health, Hamad Hassan, will visit Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport at 9:00 o’clock this evening, to follow up on the procedures adopted for the prevention of the “Corona” virus.
Dar el-Fatwa Did Not Ask Fahmi to ‘Reject’ Portfolio
Naharnet/January 25/2020
Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi denied reports claiming that Dar el-Fatwa, the highest Sunni authority in Lebanon, has urged him to renounce the interior ministry portfolio, his media office said in a statement released on Saturday. The statement said that Fahmi “denies reports circulated on social media that the Minister received a phone call before the government was lined-up from Dar el-Fatwa asking him to reject the ministerial seat.” However, the statement stressed that “Minister Fahmi is keen on the national and Islamic role of Dar Al-Fatwa, led by Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan, whom he highly respects.
Lebanon: Hariri Reminds Aoun of his ‘Protectorates’
Beirut – Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 January, 2020
Lebanon’s former prime minister, Saad Hariri, has snapped back at President Michel Aoun over accusations of granting “immunity” to some personalities. Hariri’s visitors said Friday that the former PM “does not distribute immunity to anyone and rejects becoming a barricade to any assault on public funds.”
He made his remarks after Aoun was quoted as saying by Asharq Al-Awsat that the former premier was seeking to grant “immunity” to certain figures. “Anyone who is proven to be linked to any violations or negligence in protecting public money, shall be held accountable,” the president told his visitors. But Hariri responded in remarks published by Mustaqbal Web news site by saying that Aoun should recall his “protectorates” before launching his accusations. Hariri cited “electricity, customs, corruption in the judiciary and others.”In his remarks to his visitors, Aoun also lashed out at the finance ministry and the central bank, saying they were responsible for the country’s financial crisis that helped spur an anti-government protest on Oct. 17. But former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil issued a statement saying the ministry has regulated public finances after 13 years of failure to approve public budgets. He said the electricity plan had forced the state to spend more than its treasury can handle. The energy ministry had been led in the past years by ministers belonging to the Free Patriotic Movement that is founded by Aoun.
Lebanon has 28 days to present rescue plan
Najia Houssari/Arab News/January 25/2020
UN special coordinator for Lebanon tells PM Diab: ‘Most important step to take is reforms, reforms, and reforms’
Lebanon has 28 days to prepare a statement showing how it will resolve its crises following a meeting Friday between the UN’s special coordinator for the country and Prime Minister Hassan Diab.
The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis met Diab and reiterated that the most important step that should be taken was “reforms, reforms, and reforms, break up with previous corruption practices, adopt transparency, reestablish trust, and listen to the demands of people demonstrating in the streets in order to win their confidence.”
The government has 28 days to prepare its statement, which includes a plan to address the turmoil coursing through Lebanon.
The formation of a new government earlier this week ended months of political deadlock following Saad Hariri’s resignation as prime minister in October in response to mass protests over corruption and mismanagement.
Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said the ministerial committee tasked with drafting the statement intended to promptly issue it as there were “pressing internal and external situations, and the crisis is getting more aggravated.”Hundreds of people were injured in Beirut last weekend after security personnel fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets at demonstrators who threw stones, attempted to invade the Parliament building, and attacked bank offices and shops.
There were also recent clashes between activists and supporters of the Amal Movement, which is associated with the country’s Shiite community. People wanting to protest corruption outside a public institution in the southern part of the capital were targeted by knife and stick-wielding men.
“Young men attacked us and accused us of being spies and agents, then started beating women and men alike,” said one activist. “We fled in every direction and the guards of a major store denied us entry to hide, for they feared being attacked by the aggressors.”
Amal’s leadership said the attack was perpetrated without its knowledge and was a “mere improvised reaction” by inhabitants of the area.
But newly appointed Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmy condemned the “brutal attack.” “Security services will not hesitate to pursue the aggressors and unveil their identities,” he warned. “We will no longer accept that those who tamper with security continue to violate the rights and dignity of any citizen under any circumstances or pretext, for demonstrations, sit-ins are legitimate rights protected by law.”There is also anger at the makeup of the new Cabinet, with senior political figures saying it showed that Hezbollah’s takeover of the Lebanese state was complete. Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Hezbollah had become the party with the most authority in Lebanon as it was able to extend its influence, authority and control to the head and members of the government.
“What happened so far will have negative repercussions on the government and its approach to a large number of problems, which have become aggravated since Michel Aoun became president and led to a significant decline in the confidence of citizens in the government and the political class as a whole,” he told Arab News. The new government did not bring independent ministers as promised, he added. Earlier this week former minister Marwan Hamade told Arab News that Hezbollah regained a parliamentary majority in 2018 thanks to an electoral law designed to benefit the pro-Iranian party.
“Now Hezbollah completes its takeover through the new government where we find the fingerprints of the Syrian regime. The majority of the new ministers in key positions depend either on Hezbollah or on the former security chief, the pro-Syrian Jamil Sayyed, or on Gebran Bassil, their ally,” Hamade said.
Breaking down a Lebanese haircut
Leila El Sayed/Annahar/January 25/2020
The shortage of physical dollars in the country is already forcing a Liralization haircut.
With the looming financial failure in Lebanon, several new terms emerged in the average citizen’s daily conversation such as Haircut, Capital Control, Liralization, etc. Haircut, or a forced decrease in deposits, is widely debated and most dreaded by the public. However, these debates come with little rigorous and scientific analysis. This is due to the absence of data on deposit concentration in different balance brackets (as a result of Lebanon’s Banking Secrecy Law), coupled with the lack of reliable information on the sizes of BDL monetary reserves. In short, we are in a crisis, but we have no idea when the curtain will drop. An article by Dan Azzi on November 8th, 2019 suggested that a banking capital control (back then was still not widely imposed) would only stanch a bleeding while more drastic measures are needed such as a haircut on all accounts above 1 mill $. Others anticipate an immanent haircut affecting all deposits above 100K $. In this article, I examine the different “discussed” haircut scenarios, using realistic approximations to overcome the problem of data shortage. It is worth mentioning that this is an effort to explore the different scenarios and their consequences and is by no means a suggestion that a deposit haircut is the best solution for banking recapitalization. The main scenarios analyzed here are haircut on deposits, haircut on net deposits, and indirect haircut through Liralization. Under each scenario, a fixed rate of haircut (30%) can be applied to all deposits, a progressive rate is simulated depending on deposit size (30%, 40%, 50%), and then a more aggressive rate (40%, 50%, 60%).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its 2016 Article IV on Lebanon, showed Lebanese deposit concentration based on three bucket sizes: 100K $, 1 mill $ and 100 mill $. The numbers published by the IMF are utilized to calculate total haircut amount that can be generated to recapitalize banks under the three scenarios. The assumption is made that these different bucket sizes are still valid today.
Scenario 1 below assumes a haircut on deposits ($ and LBP) independent of loan amounts. In the fixed rate case, this can generate 44bn$ (1A), in the medium progressive rate case it generates 54bn$ (1B) and in the most progressive rate case, it generates 68bn$ (1C).
A less likely scenario, Scenario 2, assumes a haircut on deposits net of loans. The assumption here is that each depositor holds an equal loan-to-deposit ratio as the total in the banking sector (30%). This scenario can generate between 18bn$ and 30bn$ in the most progressive rate case (2C).
The third scenario has been recently discussed on social media platforms and newly termed as the Liralization haircut. In this scenario, all dollar deposits (and loans) would be converted forcefully to LBP. This is therefore an indirect haircut of at least 40% (at current exchange rates) on all deposits across all buckets. This scenario can yield 35bn$.
Note that the shortage of physical dollars in the country is already forcing a Liralization haircut of this kind. This is where half of the interest on dollar accounts are being paid in Lebanese Lira (some banks are paying full in Liras) while other depositors with urgent liquidity needs are converting their accounts to Lebanese Lira to avoid the stricter limits on dollar accounts.
With an estimated 2bn$ outflow of total banking deposits per month, at least a ten-fold amount of banking recapitalization is needed to stop banks from moving from their current illiquidity status into insolvency. The source of this recapitalization will continue to be hotly debated in the coming months, as each solution will cause several grievous social, economic and financial consequences. *Leila El Sayed holds a BA in Economics from the American University of Beirut, an MA in Financial Economics from the University of Leeds and an MSc in Decision Sciences from the London School of Economics. She worked as a research analyst in the banking sector in Lebanon for several years and later as an Economist at the United Nations Development Program.
التحالف الأميركي الشرق أوسطي للديموقراطية يدعم حجب المساعدات الأمريكية للبنان
AMCD Supports Withholding US Aid to Lebanon
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, January 25, 2020
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INPresswire.com/ — The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy strongly supports Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the US government’s position on withholding aid to the recently-formed, Hezbollah-dominated government in Lebanon.
“The test of Lebanon’s new government will be its actions and its responsiveness to the demands of the Lebanese people to implement reforms and to fight corruption,” said Secretary Pompeo. “Only a government that is capable of and committed to undertaking real and tangible reforms will restore investor confidence and unlock international assistance for Lebanon.”
As demonstrations continued across the country, it is clear that the new government formed by the Iranian terrorist proxy Hezbollah and its allies will not satisfy the people’s demand for clean government.
“The new government formed in Lebanon this week lacks legitimacy in the eyes of the Lebanese Revolution and is still beholden to the mullahs in Iran and their proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon,” said AMCD co-chair, John Hajjar. “Secretary Pompeo is to be congratulated for his lack of endorsement, but he and the Trump Administration need to go further in supporting the Revolution. Sanctions and travel bans need to be implemented against those in the former government and those in the new. Nothing but a wholesale clean-up of all the clans, militias and hereditary politicians will be able to restore the confidence of the long suffering people of Lebanon. Absent that, Lebanese in each region should install their own organic governing structures and shake off the noose placed around their necks by the mullahs, Hezbollah and their ilk.”
“The US should demand that the newly formed Lebanese government declare the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 which would force Hezbollah to disarm and disband.” added AMCD co-chair, Tom Harb. “Members of Parliament should consider giving votes of confidence based on progress toward that goal.”
AMCD strongly supports Secretary Pompeo’s strong stance in opposition to Hezbollah’s continued domination of Lebanese politics and its corrupt suffocation of the Lebanese economy. Hezbollah must be expelled from the government. Then, and only then, should aid and investment be resumed.
Rebecca Bynum
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy
+1 615 775 6801
Hezbollah-backed Lebanon government should beware of the US
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/January 25/2020
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Washington will not tolerate Hassan Diab’s administration so long as it is a puppet of the Iranian proxy
Lebanon’s new government, headed by Hassan Diab, was last week weaved together by Jamil Al Sayyed – a man known for his loyalty to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Lebanese political party Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. In other words, the new government is part of Tehran’s so-called Axis of Resistance. However, most of the powers vested in the region have preferred to wait and watch to see how this government is getting on.
The Europeans have sent misleading diplomatic messages at a time when they need to be clear and firm. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has been guilty of the same. For now, Russia has focused on its interests in Syria and Libya.
The US meanwhile has determined not to tolerate Hezbollah’s role as a puppet master controlling the strings of what is essentially a weak government. The Donald Trump administration’s policy with regard to Iran and its proxies in the Middle East has always been to exert maximum pressure, including the deployment of sanctions.
While the Lebanese state has not been targeted by sanctions thus far, the imposition of a Hezbollah-backed government will have consequences in Washington. And anyone who assumes that the Trump administration will accept the status quo will be in for a surprise.
For now, though, the US is biding its time – not because it thinks it might get on with Mr Diab, who has denied his administration is the work of Hezbollah. Nor is it doing so to test the government’s ability to enact serious reforms – a condition for giving Lebanon aid to stave off collapse. The US is essentially ensuring that the Lebanese army does not slip into a bloody confrontation with peaceful protesters, and guarantee donor countries do not rush to offer aid before reforms are put into execution – for that would mean sparing Lebanon’s ruling elite of accountability.
European diplomats have spoken in a language that betray the Lebanese people and their demands. They have suggested that the mere formation of a government, even if three months too late, is an achievement and that there should be no prejudgment before its performance is evaluated. This stance is even more remarkable given that it has coincided with the UK’s decision to stop differentiating between Hezbollah’s military and political wings and designate the entity as a terrorist group. Yet we see now the UK implicitly deciding to live with a government formed by Hezbollah.
Such a stance will hasten Lebanon’s economic collapse. Firstly, giving the government a grace period of a month or two – which the Europeans are considering as an option – might delay an implosion in the short term, when what is needed is to force rapid reforms to prevent collapse over the long term. Secondly, the European stance will be seen as a betrayal of the popular uprising, which has demanded the formation of a government of technocrats and independents.
French diplomacy, meanwhile, needs a skillful translator to interpret its meanings, having linked aid to reforms; welcomed the formation of the government; and criticised Hezbollah’s regional positions while calling for its “self-dissociation”.
More remarkable still is Hezbollah’s position, as described by those close to the party. In Hezbollah-aligned Al Akhbar newspaper, its editor-in-chief Ibrahim Al Amin wrote: “Hezbollah will dissociate itself from everything but will not allow anyone in the government to threaten the interests of the resistance whatever the cost.” He added that defeating what he called the US-Israeli project is the priority, and that “every setback for America will mitigate the internal crises of Lebanon and other countries in the region”.
This clarity comes in the wake of some ambiguity expressed by Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state. Speaking to Bloomberg about the US position on the Lebanese government, he said: “We’ll have to take a look at it. I don’t know the answer to that yet.” In reality, however, the Trump administration’s position is crystal clear, with Mr Pompeo having attached conditions before providing assistance to Lebanon to save it from a “terrible financial crisis that lays in front of it just in the weeks ahead”, as he put it. Those conditions included the state meeting the demands for freedom and sovereignty.
Interestingly, those close to Hezbollah’s thinking are speaking in a manner that suggests they are disapproving of Mr Diab’s government. Criticism emerged after Mr Diab ruled out dismissing Central Bank governor Riad Salameh, announced his first foreign visit would be to the Arabian Gulf, and refrained from promising to uphold the trinity of the “army, the people, and the resistance” enshrined in all previous government manifestos.
So, the question we must ask here is this: is Hezbollah’s distancing from the Diab government an attempt at deflection, or is it to distance itself from a disaster it knows is coming – precisely because of its insistence on forming a weak government and thereby ignoring the people’s demands? Ultimately, what matters to Hezbollah is not what happens to Lebanon but how Lebanon can be used in the battle between Iran and the US.
However, Tehran is in a bind – both in economic and military terms. It has also fallen victim to its own regional and nuclear ambitions. The Trump administration will therefore continue to impose sanctions on the regime and its proxies. It has stepped up efforts to target Hezbollah’s funding sources in South America and Africa. And if necessary, it might even impose sanctions on Beirut.
In other words, those rushing to conclude that the uprising in Lebanon is over should hold their horses.
*Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute
Hezbollah will find the urgent Lebanese priorities are clashing with its regional loyalties
Michael Young/The National/January 25/2020
If the party opts for repression to silence the domestic scene, it might cause a social explosion and foreign condemnation that it would regret
In discussing the popular protests in Lebanon, many people have tended to focus on internal dynamics and public disgust with the political class. That is certainly legitimate, given that some of Lebanon’s politicians are the personification of incompetence and corruption, individuals who in any normal country would be in prison.
However, it might be that the biggest factor affecting developments in the country – and how the Lebanese address their ongoing economic collapse – is regional politics. Specifically, Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most dominant party, will seek to shape the politics of the country in line with its interpretation of events in the wider Middle East and their impact on its patron Iran.
The recent assassination of Qassem Suleimani was a watershed moment for Iran. The country’s leadership interpreted the move as an attempt by the US to challenge the Iranian regional agenda, and this will almost certainly have repercussions on Hezbollah’s behaviour in Lebanon in the coming phase.
For the party, the US challenge mandates two things: first, not allowing Lebanon’s protest movement to undermine a political system that has provided cover for Hezbollah; and second, reinforcing the party’s hold over the Lebanese system so as to hold the country hostage in any regional power struggle.
The first imperative pushed Hezbollah to subtly oppose the protest movement when it began last October. The party variously sought to cajole, intimidate and demobilise the protesters, before focusing its efforts on forming a government that would preserve the stakes of the major political parties that are aligned with it. It has now put together a government that will aim to neutralise and, possibly, suppress popular demonstrations.
More worrisome is what this would mean for Lebanon’s economic status. It is almost certain that the country will need some form of international assistance as its financial system falls apart. The process is already well advanced as Lebanon’s banking sector buys time while awaiting a rescue plan. Yet Hezbollah might consider intervention by the International Momentary Fund, or some other outside group of states, as an infringement on its margin of manoeuvre.
Donor countries will not help Lebanon unless it engages in serious economic reform. Such a process would be painful and essentially be imposed upon a reluctant political class, thereby weakening its credibility. This could represent a red line for Hezbollah, which would not only see the political class lose its control over economic decisions, but might also have to face conditions for assistance that are directed against it.
Yet saying “no” would not be that simple. If Lebanon goes bankrupt and banks close, the pain the Lebanese feel will reach new heights. In such a context the party cannot be seen as an obstacle to outside aid. It would face a dilemma of either obstructing foreign assistance, provoking popular rage or opening the door to outside help and influence that could undermine Hezbollah’s lock on the system.
That is why the party might have no option but to push for real reform to keep foreign funders away, even if this is improbable. Hezbollah and its allies have created a vast and systemic form of corruption that is difficult to alter. Even with the best of intentions, any push for reforms by the party could lead to tensions with its allies. Worse, if Hezbollah regards preservation of the system as vital today, why would it accept reforms that transform the system tomorrow?
The party is looking warily not only at the US. It is equally uneasy about Russia’s moves in the region. A few days after the US assassinated Suleimani, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin flew to Damascus to meet with President Bashar Al Assad of Syria. The very clear message in his visit, compounded by the fact that Mr Al Assad had to suffer the humiliation of going to a Russian command post to meet Mr Putin, was that the Syrian regime ultimately answers to Moscow, not Tehran.
Mr Putin’s actions carried an implicit statement that even if the US and Iran went to war, Russia would protect its stakes in the region. Coming in the wake of Russia’s decision on countless occasions not to fire its anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli planes bombing Iranian and pro-Iranian proxy forces in Syria, such an attitude cannot reassure Tehran. To the Iranians, Syria provides Hezbollah with strategic depth in any war with Israel but that is no longer necessarily true if Russia controls the country.
That is why, just as Mr Putin effectively made his position clear in Syria after the Suleimani killing, Hezbollah will be keen to affirm that Lebanon is Iran’s. And it will ignore as much as it can the national protest movement, hoping perhaps that a mixture of threats and patronage power will allow it to weather the crisis. That, however, might be an unrealistic expectation given that Lebanon’s economic disintegration will hit Hezbollah’s constituency, and its wider community, very hard as well.
At some point Hezbollah will find that its regional loyalties are clashing with urgent Lebanese priorities. If the party opts for repression to silence the domestic scene, it might cause a social explosion, and foreign condemnation, that Hezbollah would regret. Lebanon is not Iran. Resorting to violence could potentially bring with it a civil war that draws Hezbollah into a maelstrom from which it will not soon exit.
*Michael Young is editor of Diwan, the blog of the Carnegie Middle East programme, in Beirut
Lebanon at a turning point
Dr. Nasser Saidi/Al Arabiya/January 25/2020
Endemic and persistent corruption, mismanagement, gross mal-governance, and failure to address Lebanon’s economic, social, and environmental challenges have driven protestors to throng the streets amidst bank closures, payment restrictions, and foreign exchange controls. Protesters had called for a cabinet of professionals, “technocrats,” politically independent, experienced persons, divorced from sectarian politics. The new government formed under duress is a mix of professionals and politically affiliated members. Significantly, it is comprised of 20 non-parliamentarians promising better accountability and has six female members (including the Middle East’s first female defense minister). However, the stark reality, as Prime Minister Hassan Diab clearly identified, is that the country is at a “financial, economic, and social dead end.” Indeed, Lebanon has become a failed state. Will the new government have the political courage to undertake deep and unpopular reforms? Will it be willing to commit political suicide?
The new government has a gargantuan task ahead: It must immediately address the interlinked economic, banking and financial, and currency crises, not to mention a deadly environmental crisis. The accumulated difficulties have ballooned over the past three months due to a series of policy mistakes and inaction including the panic-inducing closure of the banks, informal capital controls, restrictions on domestic and external payments, a rapid depreciation of over 40 percent of the Lebanese pound in the parallel market and effective inconvertibility of deposits. In turn, the pound’s depreciation and the liquidity crunch have led to a sharp acceleration of inflation (some 30 percent), a sharp drop in economic activity (e.g. car registrations dropped by 79 percent year-on-year in November), leading to growing layoffs and unemployment, business closures/bankruptcies, and falling incomes, resulting in a collapse of investment, a sharp curtailment of household consumption, and more than a 50 percent fall in government revenue. The forecast is that real gross domestic product could decline by 10 percent, a great depression, not a recession.
Time is running out for Lebanon. Sovereign debt has risen to 160 percent of GDP, with a projected debt service of $10 billion, equivalent to 22 percent of GDP and over 60 percent of government revenue. The fiscal deficit jumped to about 15 percent of GDP last year (from a budgeted 7.5 percent) and is likely to rise again this year. The debt dynamics and fiscal deficit are on an unsustainable path, with central bank monetary financing of the deficit heralding rapidly increasing inflation and accompanying depreciation of the Lebanese pound. Lebanon’s external accounts are also in crisis, with the current account deficit (some 26 percent of GDP), aggravated by falling remittances and a surge in capital outflows, despite the illegal and unofficial capital controls.
What should the policy imperatives be of the new government? Fundamentally, the Diab government needs to develop and implement a series of economic and structural reforms that aim to restore trust in the government and its institutions, notably through an anti-corruption strategy and stolen assets recovery program, and addressing the fiscal, banking, financial, monetary, and currency crises to avoid a lost decade of economic depression, poverty, deep social unrest, and political chaos. The immediate priorities include the following reforms.
Establish an emergency cabinet committee for immediately implementing economic and financial policy reform measures.
An economic recovery and liquidity reform program is required and must be prepared and agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Lebanon needs a multilaterally funded package of some $20-25 billion for economic and social stabilization, budgetary and balance of payments support, and a redesigned CEDRE program. In 2018, more than $11 billion was pledged in soft loans at the CEDRE conference in Paris, funding from which being unlocked is dependent on reforms made in the country. Prime Minister Diab’s announcement of potential visits to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations would be a propitious opportunity to discuss participation in the reform program.
A credible fiscal reform should top the list of policy priorities.
Starting with the 2020 budget, the aim should be to achieve a 5-6 percent primary budget surplus over the next two years through expenditure and revenue measures. These would include the removal of subsidies on electricity and fuel, which are major drains on the budget, revisiting public sector salaries and pensions, in addition to public procurement laws and procedures, and improved tax compliance. But medium- and long-term fiscal sustainability requires imposing permanent constraints on fiscal policy through two fiscal rules: a budget balance rule (e.g. budget deficits not to exceed 2 percent of GDP) and a debt rule (e.g. debt-to-GDP should not exceed 80 percent of GDP).
Public debt restructuring is key.
Given the Eurobond maturing in March 2020, another initial pain point is initiating negotiations on restructuring and re-profiling Lebanon’s public debt, including the debt of Lebanon’s central bank. So far, the absence of an empowered government haa constrained any negotiations on restructuring its debt. Lebanon’s crisis-hit bonds have been flashing warning signs of a sovereign debt distress if not default ahead. Yields on the government’s $1.2 billion of notes maturing in March were close to 200 percent on January 22 (versus at 13 percent just before the start of protests), while the price of other Lebanese Eurobonds plummeted to historic lows. The new government should immediately initiate debt restructuring negotiations within the comprehensive economic stabilization and liquidity program. A successful restructuring could reduce the net present value of debt by some 50 percent, substantially lowering the debt burden and its servicing.
The banking sector must be restructured.
Given that 70 percent of Lebanese banks’ assets are invested in sovereign debt and central bank paper, a restructuring of public debt will necessitate an extensive reform of the banking system, including a bail-in of the banks through a $20-25 billion recapitalization by existing and new shareholders, a capitalization of reserves, a sale of assets, – such as real estate, investments, and foreign subsidiaries – and a consolidation of banks to downsize the sector.
Lebanon needs to change its monetary policy and move to a managed flexible exchange rate regime.
The high interest rates required to maintain the overvalued official dollar peg generated structural current account deficits, created a domestic liquidity squeeze, crowded out the private sector, and increased the cost of public borrowing. Reform starts with admitting the failure of the pegged regime, recognizing the de facto depreciated parallel market rate, and instituting formal capital controls through legislation during the economic transition period. A social safety net must be implemented to protect the vulnerable.
Importantly, given the need for painful reform measures and rising extreme poverty levels, a targeted and well-funded social safety net, to the tune of some $800 million, needs to be put in place to protect the poor and vulnerable. This is a historical turning point. Either Lebanon will choose a path that leads to the economy’s stabilization and a gradual recovery over a three- to five-year transition period, or it will avoid necessary reforms, confirming the country as a failed nation and dooming it to a decade of desolation.
Hezbollah gets its way with new Lebanese government
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/January 25/2020
Almost a month after being designated Prime Minister by Hezbollah and its allies, Hassan Diab unveiled his 20-member cabinet; to the majority of Lebanese, Diab is an utter disappointment.
Since October 17, the Lebanese, and the Lebanese diaspora, have taken to the streets across Lebanon to demand a transitional and independent government, one that can carry out a series of political reforms and thus pave the way for the country’s economic resurgence. Instead, Diab’s lineup of ostensibly capable men and women are satellites of their respective parties, each reporting to, and committed to, the instructions of their political patron.
This public perception is not only enforced by the selection and background of the respective ministers, but rather by the process which brought them to power. Hezbollah’s main Christian ally, Lebanon Foreign Minister and President Aoun’s son-in-law Gebran Bassil, was given a freehand to carve out his share of the cabinet, confirming Diab as merely a pawn. Joining Bassil as kingmaker was member of parliament Jamil Sayyid, one of the most prominent security chiefs during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon (1990 to 2005), whose active and visible involvement in forming the Diab government further exposed it and framed it as merely a Trojan horse for Iran and its allies.
Disregarding the flagrant transgression on the cabinet formation and the fact that Hezbollah is fully in control of this government, Diab also failed to fulfill his promise of appointing qualified and capable ministers to address Lebanon’s dangerous economic downfall. While some of the cabinet have impressive and elaborate credentials, their skills are simply in the wrong place, as their sectarian and party affiliation dictates which ministry they occupy. Despite including six female ministers in Diab’s cabinet, a record high for any Lebanese government, most of them have no experience in their appointed position.
Minister of the Displaced Ghada Shreim, who holds a PhD in French literature and was former director of the Faculty of Letters at the Lebanese University, should be appointed as minister of education rather than to the defunct and corrupt Ministry of the Displaced. Manal Abdul Samad, another impressive female professional and the head of the value added tax legislation and tax policies department at the Ministry of Finance was appointed as Minister of Information, something in which she has no prior experience. Amusingly tragic perhaps, is the fact the minister of defense is a pharmacist who only got her post because her husband, a tycoon and shady artifact collector, could not meet the sectarian criteria.
Farcically, Diab saw it fit to hand two portfolios, culture and agriculture, which are in no way related, to Abbas Mortada, a member of Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement. Mortada’s mediocre credentials and the organic disjunction of his portfolios, coupled by the fact that the Amal Movement is not famed to be a champion of either, has unleashed a gale of mockery over social media platforms, has spread doubt further, and has discredited Diab and his supposed commitment for change.
These facts aside, in Diab’s first speech after announcing his cabinet, he pledged to lobby the international community as well as the Arab Gulf states to help Lebanon out of its economic pickle, but by doing so, he might have already doomed his cabinet. For the international community, mainly the US and its Arab allies, to inject money into Lebanon’s economy, it has to be certain that these funds are not funneled into the empty coffers of Hezbollah, something that Diab is incapable or unwilling to do.
Diab has perhaps surprised many by initially accepting to do Hezbollah’s bidding and agree to be designated as prime minister, but his insistence on bending completely to Hezbollah’s regional master plan by fielding such a disappointing cabinet, is nothing short of suicidal. Further, it does nothing to confront the demands of ordinary Lebanese. Anyone looking at the formation of the Lebanese cabinet, both regionally and internally, comes out with a number of conclusions. Most importantly, Iran, and consequently Hezbollah, has dug itself into a deep hole. Rather than compromising and seeking to exit its predicament, it has decided to confront and drag the countries it has held hostage even further into unsalvageable depth. Second, the Diab cabinet, and any other desperate attempt by the ruling elite to prolong this corpse of a system has simply ran its course, and will eventually fall on the streets, by force if necessary.
