Conflict Incident Report

On 14 Aug 17, Armed Forces veterans blocked several major roads in Beirut in a bid to pressure President Michel Aoun not to sign the wage scale file and related taxes that were referred to him through parliament last month. The protesters believe that the wage scale, as approved, does not serve them justice. They refuse installed payments for pensioners. Early in the morning, the protestors blocked major roads in and around Beirut including Port of Beirut, major commercial hub the Hamra Street near the Central Bank of Lebanon. The protestors also banned BDL employees from joining their offices and blocked the bank's several entrances. They also prevented the Customs employees at Port of Beirut from entering into the facility. On the other hand, the Syndicate Coordination Committee also held a sit-in in Downtown Beirut demanding publishing the wage scale law in the official gazette. The campaigners' move comes in line with an economic dialogue meeting set to be held at the Presidential Palace in Baabda at Aoun's request.