Collective Action
ISF forcibly removes protesters at banking association
Police arrested four protesters who had occupied the entrance of the Association of Banks in Lebanon Friday, and beat and arrested another protester outside moments later.
Using a chain and lock they had brought, three men and one woman locked themselves inside the gate at the entrance of the ABL's headquarters near Beirut's Gemmayzeh district Friday morning. They then “threw away the key.”
The protesters demanded that loans be allowed to be paid in Lebanese pounds instead of dollars, an end to corruption resulting from the state and banks, and the return of “looted public funds.”
“It is not allowed anymore for the [Lebanese] pound to be a hostage to the dollar,” one of the protesters inside the association said.
An Internal Security Forces unit of around 30 policemen later arrived. They entered the association’s building from a back entrance and carried off the protesters, who were sitting on the floor, as other policemen blocked the view of the media's cameras.
The four protesters were arrested and taken to an ISF vehicle nearby.