Policy Grievances

The youth sector of the Lebanese Communist Party and the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth staged a protest Friday in front of the Central Bank in Hamra to oppose reported proposed tax increases.

According to a recent report in Al-Akhbar newspaper, Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh suggested in a meeting last week that to resolve the country’s housing loans crisis, LL5,000 ($3.33) should be added per every 20 liters of gasoline and the Value-Added Tax also be increased.

 Scores of protesters gathered in front of the Beirut Municipality building Wednesday in a rally organized by the You Stink movement in cooperation with other civil society groups against the city’s plan to establish a waste incinerator in the capital.

Under the slogan, “You burned our breath – enough,” demonstrators from across the country, including from Tripoli, Dinnieh-Minyeh and Jbeil, gathered in Beirut.

President of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights Wadih al-Asmar was questioned by the Internal Security Forces’ Anti-Cybercrimes Bureau Friday, two weeks after he was summoned to appear over a post he made on social media.

Asmar told The Daily Star after the interrogation that he had been summoned after a complaint was filed against him by the Catholic Information Center, because he tweeted a screenshot of a Facebook post that made a joke about St. Charbel. The original post had been made by online activist and comedian Charbel Khoury, who was interrogated about it in July.

Protesters burned tires and blocked roads in Sidon Monday to protest against the South Lebanon Water Authority as the city has been experiencing water shortages for three days. Demonstrators held the state-run water company accountable for ongoing supply issues in the area, which has seen an increase in water rationing in recent days.

Interruptions in the main electrical service line led to the rationing program to ensure the regular functioning of water pumps, officials said.