|
Anti-Government Strike Hits Beirut
BEIRUT, May 7--Demonstrators blocked several roads in and around Beirut with burning tires on Wednesday when large parts of Lebanon observed a strike to protest against the
government's economic and social policies, witnesses said.
They said the main road leading to Beirut's international airport was among routes blocked by the supporters of the Hezbollah-led opposition.
On Tuesday
the head of Lebanon's (FLU) Ghassan Ghosen urged supporters to join a "popular" demonstration on Wednesday from Beirut's mainly Sunni Barbir Square, ending up at the Central Bank headquarters in the cent of the city.
The union rejected a government decision on Tuesday to raise the minimum monthly wage by $130.
Information Minister Ghazi Aridi told reporters that the government decided in its weekly cabinet meeting to raise
minimum salaries from $200 dollars to $330, and also agreed on special bonuses for civil servants and retired public sector workers.
But the union said the moves did not go far enough and protested that the bonus did not
apply to the private sector.
"The government's decisions are insufficient," said Ghosn, adding that the general strike would go ahead as planned.
Ghosen, addressing a press conference, also pledged that
the demonstration would be "only the beginning of serial protests, including general strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins aimed at putting at end to controlling our present and future."
However, the union of
civil aviation employees said it would abide by the strike, bringing Beirut Airport activity to a standstill from 9 am to 6 pm.
According to the consumer association, prices have risen by 43 percent over the past 21
months, while the official unemployment rate stands at 10 percent.
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh also said last week that the inflation rate had risen by 10 percent, owing to a rise in oil prices on international
markets and the weakening of the dollar.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's Cabinet decided Tuesday to remove Beirut airport's security chief over alleged ties to the resistance Hezbollah group, the country's information minister said.
The decision is expected to exacerbate tension between the Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition, putting them on a collision course.
Aridi read a statement at the end of a marathon Cabinet
meeting that began Monday evening and lasted nearly 11 hours, saying Brig. Gen. Wafiq Shoukair would rejoin the army.
He also said the Cabinet declared a telecommunications network used by Hezbollah for military purposes
was illegal and a danger to state security.
The Cabinet decisions come a day after Lebanon's top prosecutor began investigating allegations that the resistance group set up cameras near the airport to monitor the
movement of anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and foreign dignitaries.
The allegations were first levied by politician Walid Jumblatt, who on Saturday accused Hezbollah of placing the cameras in front of the Beirut's
airport.
The Hezbollah didn't immediately comment Tuesday's Cabinet decisions, but in a televised interview Monday night, its deputy leader Naim Kassem warned the government against false allegations.
Kassem said
the group's telecommunications network was necessary for its deterrence capabilities in the fight against Israel.
The group's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, was to respond to the Cabinet decision at a Thursday press
conference, Hezbollah said in a statement.
|
