Lebanon's Political Class Under Pressure from Civil Society

The ruling political class in Lebanon is under unprecedented pressure from the country's civil society. On Saturday, September 7, the Lebanese civil society held the largest demonstration in its history and set a deadline for the implementation of its demands. This new movement began in protest against the accumulation of garbage in the streets of Beirut but gradually expanded to include demands for fighting "corruption" and "punishing corrupt politicians." On Sunday, the campaign "Your Stench Has Emerged," which organized the recent protests, wrote on social media addressing political officials: "Your time has come." This campaign promised to escalate its actions if its demands were ignored by Sunday evening. The 72-hour deadline was also announced during the Sunday protests. The demands include: "the resignation of Mohammad Mashnouq, Lebanon's Minister of Environment, for failing to solve the garbage problem, creating a permanent, sustainable, and environmentally friendly solution for the garbage crisis, punishing all those who squandered public funds in the past, and punishing Mashnouq, the Minister of Interior, and all those who ordered the shooting at protesters last week." After several weeks of protests, the campaign "Your Stench Has Emerged" succeeded in gathering tens of thousands of people in Martyrs' Square in central Beirut. The protesters carried slogans such as "Citizens First" and "Down with the Thug Government." These slogans indicate that the people's patience with the lack of real reforms in Lebanon has run out since the end of the civil wars in 1990, and corruption and deficiencies in essential services such as water and electricity have intensified their anger. Under the title "People's Saturday," the newspaper "As-Safir" wrote: "Martyrs' Square has returned to its rightful owners, a new generation, young people who have opened their eyes to political figures who have not left their podiums and bases for forty years." "As-Safir" is considered a media outlet close to the March 8 Alliance, consisting of Hezbollah and its allies. Lebanese newspapers expressed the opinion that the unprecedented nature of the recent protests heralds the beginning of a new phase in Lebanon. The newspaper "An-Nahar" wrote: "The protests indicate the inevitability of change by the will of the people; a will that will either be realized by the politicians themselves or through street pressure that has emerged from the dominance of the two groups, March 8 and March 14, who divide power among themselves." The newspaper "An-Nahar" is close to the March 14 Alliance, which includes groups opposing Hezbollah, such as the Future Movement led by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The two alliances, March 8, supported by Iran, and March 14, backed by Saudi Arabia, are present in the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam. However, political differences have prevented the government from making significant decisions, a situation that is one of the reasons for the garbage accumulation crisis. "An-Nahar" wrote: "For the first time, civil society forces are moving for vital demands, not in response to a call from a political or religious leader." The system in Lebanon has been based on sectarian power-sharing among Muslims, Christians, and Druze since 1943. This system is called "consociational democracy." However, this system is responsible for widespread corruption in government organizations, embezzlement of public funds, the civil war (1975 to 1990), and successive crises since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Recent crises and political rifts have prevented the Lebanese parliament from electing a president, and this position has been vacant for over a year. On the other hand, the inability to hold parliamentary elections has led the current parliament to extend its term for two years. This action is also one of the protesters' grievances, who are calling for elections. Political positions in Lebanon are held by the leaders of the civil war. They divide government positions and parliamentary seats among themselves. In addition to the campaign "Your Stench Has Emerged," other groups and campaigns in civil society have joined this movement, including "We Want Punishment," "Forward to the Streets," and "Let Us Go," which are very active on social media. After a week of protests that also witnessed clashes, the protests on Saturday were calm yet fervent, a movement that further increases pressure on Lebanon's political class.