Trash, protests build up in Beirut

Activist group sets Tuesday deadline for government action

Lebanese riot police make their way through a barbed-wire barrier as they deploy Saturday around the government building in Beirut where protesters have been holding daily demonstrations.
Lebanese riot police make their way through a barbed-wire barrier as they deploy Saturday around the government building in Beirut where protesters have been holding daily demonstrations.

BEIRUT -- Waving red, white and green Lebanese flags, thousands of people poured into a major square in downtown Beirut on Saturday, staging the largest of the demonstrations that began several days ago over garbage piling up in the streets of the city.

The government's failure to resolve the crisis has evolved into wider protests against a political class that has dominated Lebanon since the end of the country's civil war in 1990 and a government that has failed to provide basic services to the people. Protesters filled up the area known as Martyrs' Square, shouting anti-government slogans in a peaceful, carnival-like atmosphere.

The main group behind the protests issued a set of demands, giving the government 72 hours to respond.

In a speech before thousands of protesters in Beirut, Rasha Halabi, a spokesman for the "You Stink" group, called for the resignation of the Lebanese environment minister and for the interior minister to be held accountable for police brutality against protesters last weekend.

She said the group will escalate its protest actions by Tuesday evening if the government does not respond.

At least two or three armored personnel carriers were deployed around the prime minister's office. A man over a megaphone chanted: "Declare it a revolution!"

Two protests last weekend outside the prime minister's office drew up to 20,000 people and were generally peaceful. But the rallies turned violent when security forces used batons, tear gas and water cannons to disperse groups of people who tried to break the security cordon around the prime minister's office.

There were concerns that Saturday's protest would also descend into clashes. To avoid friction with security forces, organizers of the protest shifted the location from Riyad Solh square, opposite the government building known as the Grand Serail, to Martyr's Square a few hundred yards away.

The government said a joint security-military operations room was set up to prevent chaos.

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Beirut, many of them in white T-shirts that read "You Stink" in support of the activist group.

"Today is a step on a long road," said Fares Shoufani, a 48-year-old contractor, who said he has been working since 1990 to change the country's sectarian regime. His movement, a new one, joined "You Stink" to push for that.

"We are depending on this movement. The more it advances forcefully, and the more the people join," Shoufani said.

Alex Paulikevitch, a 33-year-old choreographer, said it is time to rise up because garbage has filled the streets.

"It is turning into -- I won't say revolution -- but kind of an uprising. It would be great if we win on the rubbish issue because this will cause the beads to come undone," he said.

Paulikevitch said he doesn't think the protests will take down the system, "but if we get one demand to solve the rubbish problem, it will be great."

"It's not about rubbish, it's about a decaying political system," read one banner.

"We want a new Lebanon," read another.

The London-based rights group Amnesty International called on Lebanese authorities Saturday to investigate allegations that security forces have used excessive force to disperse rallies.

Amnesty International said security forces fired live rounds, used rubber bullets, and hurled stones or beat protesters, leaving 59 people hospitalized. It called on security forces to refrain from using "unnecessary or excessive" force during Saturday's protest.

"Everyone in Lebanon has the right to peaceful assembly. Lebanese officials must uphold this right and send a clear message to security personnel that such attacks against peaceful protesters will not be tolerated," said Lama Fakih, senior crisis adviser at Amnesty International.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk acknowledged there were "mistakes" that led to the excessive use of force and said an investigation was underway. Officials say more than 100 security personnel were injured.

Reflecting concern over renewed clashes, the rally organizers from You Stink said they were deploying 500 volunteers to coordinate with security forces and prevent violence.

Assaad Thebian, a movement organizer, said his group wants to avoid any attempts to spoil their peaceful anti-government rally. They worried politicians would seek to hijack their protest, further entrenching the political establishment they are protesting against.

The campaigners said they seek radical changes including an end to the patronage system that divvies up power among Lebanon's multiple communities -- Shiites, Sunnis, Christians, Druze and more. That system has been the center of Lebanese politics for decades and helped fuel the 15-year civil war.

"We warn every politician trying to create chaos by opening a battle in one square that it will fire back at you," Thebian wrote on his Twitter account.

Information for this article was contributed by Zeina Karam of The Associated Press.

A Section on 08/30/2015

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