Beirut, Oct 28 (NNN-NNA) – The Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah, is in a “difficult and delicate” situation, as protests continue to paralyse Lebanon for the second week, analysts say.
The rising cost of living, alleged corruption by officials, and high unemployment have reached a peak, Lebanese protesters say, demanding the resignation of all political leaders and an end to the sectarian system of governance.
Protests began on Oct 17, following the government’s plans to impose new taxes on tobacco, petrol and WhatsApp calls, as public anger spilled to the streets.
The government hurriedly reversed its tax proposals, but it was too late to stop the protesters from coming out on the streets, to oppose new taxes being imposed, while Lebanon was in the midst of economic crisis.
Chants of “all of them means all” and “the people demand the fall of the regime,” were heard.
Analysts remarked on the fact that these protests were seen across the country for the first time – spreading to the Hezbollah stronghold of southern Lebanon, seen as the most powerful force in the country.
While protesters voiced their anger against the government, Amal Saad, political science professor at the Lebanese University, said, the Lebanese in Shia-majority areas have also been criticising Hezbollah for not doing enough “to confront the government.”
“The overwhelming majority of Shia have been accusing [Speaker of Parliament Nabih] Berri, Amal [Movement] leader, of a lot of corruption. His wife is extremely wealthy, as wealthy as Hariri,” Saad said.
“They criticise Hezbollah for not stopping corruption, because Berri is a main Hezbollah ally and Hezbollah has done nothing to hold him to account, or to hold other partners in government to account.”
But there is little Hezbollah can do to confront the government, due to “crucial” alliances, which are forged to preserve stability and security, Saad added.
The Shia duo, Hezbollah and Amal, and its allies, were the biggest winners in the May 2018, elections.
Hezbollah emerged as a major political force, winning 13 seats and securing three cabinet posts.
It has been in an alliance with Maronite Christian President, Michel Aoun, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, for over a decade, helping him to win the presidency in 2016.
Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, spoke up in support of the government, on Oct 19, opposing the resignation of the government.
On Friday he made a second speech, warning that, the resignation of the government would cause the country to fall into chaos, conjuring fears of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war that came to an end in 1990.
Saad said, it would take too long to agree on an electoral law for early elections, given that, what was proposed for the last elections was less than ideal.
Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and North Africa programme, views Nasrallah’s speeches as an attempt at discrediting the protest movement.
“When statements like this are made, warning of political vacuum and chaos and civil war, they point out not at real expectations but more a discomfort on Hezbollah’s part,” Khatib said.
Formed in 1982, following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, Hezbollah (Party of God in Arabic) is the only movement in Lebanon not to have disarmed, after the 1975-1990 civil war.
The Shia movement liberated South Lebanon from Israeli occupation in 2000, and defended the country in a month-long war against Israel in 2006, a military success for the Iran-backed group fighting a state army.
In areas where it dominates, Hezbollah filled in for the government’s inactivity by offering citizens a variety of public services, including in education and health.– NNN-NNA
