Photos: Protesters remain despite Lebanon’s emergency reforms

Oct 22, 2019 12:32 IST

Demonstrators stand on a bridge decorated with a national flag during an anti-government protest in Jal el-Dib, Lebanon on Monday. Lebanon approved an emergency reform package on Monday in response to protests over dire economic conditions, but the moves did not go far enough to persuade demonstrators to leave the streets as many demonstrators scorned the package as “empty promises.” (Mohamed Azakir / REUTERS)

Lebanese protesters burn flares during demonstrations on Monday at Riad al-Solh Square in Beirut. Hundreds of thousands of people have flooded the streets since Thursday, furious at a political class they accuse of pushing the economy to the point of collapse. Roads were blocked for a fifth day across the country. Schools, banks and businesses were closed, and Banks are expected to remain shut on Tuesday. (Anwar Amro / AFP)

Anti-government protesters in Beirut on Monday. The number of protesters swelled following the Cabinet announcement amid intense scepticism that the reforms amounted to anything serious. They included many young men and women as well as whole families, with children waving the national red and white flag with a cedar tree in the centre. (Hassan Ammar / AP)

An areal view taken shows protesters rallying in downtown Beirut, on the fifth day of demonstrations. Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, in a televised speech, said the new measures might not meet the protesters’ demands but were a start towards achieving some of them. The government must work to recover trust, he said. “We don’t believe that they can change in two days,” said a 55-year-old jeweller. (AFP)

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri speaking to the press following a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut. Following a nearly five-hour Cabinet meeting, Hariri announced a series of economic and financial reforms. “These decisions are not in exchange for anything. I am not going to ask you to stop protesting and stop expressing your anger. This is a decision that you take,” he said. (Dalati and Nohra / AFP)

A demonstrator holds a loaf of bread that read "we are only against hunger" in the southern city of Tyre on Monday. Hundreds of thousands of people have flooded public squares across the country in the largest protests in over 15 years, unifying a public often divided on sectarian lines, in their revolt against status-quo leaders who have ruled for three decades. (Aziz Taher / REUTERS)

A demonstrator flashes a V sign during an anti-government protest in downtown Beirut. Layan Ajineh, who came to a protest with her two sons, ages 16 and 12, said that politicians “have not been able to adopt reforms in 30 years, so how did they come up with them in three days?” (Ali Hashisho / REUTERS)

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun (R) presides a cabinet session at the Baabda palace. Hariri said that the Cabinet approved the 2020 budget with a deficit of 0.63% with no new taxes. The reforms include of the salaries of ministers and lawmakers, overhauling the electricity sector, working to scrapping the ministry of information and other public institutions and downsizing others. (Mohamed Azakir / REUTERS)

Lebanese demonstrators carry placards as they gather on a highway linking Beirut to north Lebanon, in Zouk Mosbeh on Sunday. Lebanon has one of the world’s highest levels of government debt as a share of economic output. The government includes most major parties, run by politicians widely perceived to have mobilised state resources and influence for their own gain. Unemployment among those under 35 runs at 37%. (Joseph Eid / AFP)

An anti-government protester checks his phone after spending Sunday night protesting in front of the government palace in Beirut. Following Hariri’s speech at the presidential palace, thousands of people gathered outside his office in downtown Beirut chanting: “The people want to bring down the regime,” and “Revolution, revolution!” (Hassan Ammar / AP)

Demonstrators take part in an anti-government protest in Tripoli, Lebanon on Sunday. Euphoric crowds partied deep into the night Sunday, leaving political and sectarian paraphernalia at home to gather under the cedar-stamped national flag, dance to impromptu concerts and chant often hilarious anti-establishment slogans. (Omar Ibrahim / REUTERS)

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Lebanon's teetering government approved an economic rescue plan Monday but the last-ditch move was met with deep distrust from a swelling protest movement seeking the removal of the entire political class. To many demonstrators, the reforms Hariri announced smacked of a desperate attempt by a corrupt elite to cling to their jobs, and there was little sign Monday that the mobilisation was weakening. A proposed tax on mobile messaging applications last week sparked a spontaneous, cross-sectarian mobilisation -- at first dubbed a "WhatsApp revolution" -- that has brought Lebanon to a standstill and united the people against its hereditary, ruling elite.