Lebanon’s protests continue to gain momentum
Massive protests engulf Lebanon, and four ministers are to resign in consequence; organizers hope to keep the demonstrations' focus on moving forward.
The smell of smoke and burning garbage have been engulfing Beirut as black clouds rise from the tipped-over garbage bins throughout the capital's streets.
Following an announcement of tax increases, protests that were launched Oct. 17 quickly expanded from a few hundred people in Beirut to hundreds of thousands across the country. On Oct. 18, it was announced that four government ministers from the Christian Lebanese Forces will be resigning.
The massive demonstrations were apparently triggered by a $6 a month fee to make phone calls on WhatsApp and other apps. The government later rescinded the WhatsApp tax proposal, which was seen as affecting the poor the most.
“They are saying that we started [protesting] because of the WhatsApp [tax],” architect Faysal Timrawi told Al-Monitor, “The poor people care about the $6 that they would have to pay for WhatsApp. However, in the same government meeting, they issued many other taxes.”
