Collective Action
"Association of Depositors in Lebanon" and "Cry of Depositors" groups organise a demonstration in front of Banque du Liban’s headquarters to call for depositors savings to be returned in dollars
Upwards of 100 protesters faced off with riot police outside a Downtown branch of Bank of Beirut yesterday as they confronted the head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon. A protester hurled an egg at Salim Sfeir, the ABL head, who is also Beirut Bank’s CEO, and according to him and multiple eyewitnesses was struck by police in response. The demonstrators, who had gathered earlier in the day in front of Banque du Liban’s Hamra headquarters before moving Downtown, denounced informal capital controls at commercial banks that have kept depositors locked away from their dollar holdings for two years. Brandishing signs reading “Pandora exposed you” — a reference to the “Pandora Papers,” which revealed a large share of Lebanese officials with offshore holdings — they called for their savings to be returned to them in the same currency as they were deposited.
نظّمت مجموعتا جمعية المودعين وصرخة المودعين، اليوم الأربعاء، وقفةً تصعيديّةً أمام مصرف لبنان في بيروت وسط حضورٍ أمنيٍّ كثيف، هدّدوا خلالها بملاحقة المصرفيين وعائلاتهم وأملاكهم في حال استمرّ الوضع على ما هو عليه.
كما طالب الحاضرون بإسقاط التعميم 151 ووقف كافة أشكال الهيركات على المودعين. تزامنت الوقفة مع تحرّكٍ نفّذه عدد من الناشطين أمام مكاتب جمعية المصارف حيث حاولوا محاصرة المبنى ومنع موظّفيه وإداريّيه من الدخول والخروج.