Written by Joe Ayoub- Global Voices
Days after two thousand protesters
gathered in front of the government palace in Beirut on March 19, to
protest against proposed tax hikes, the Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri announced that elections will be delayed, again. Hassan Chamoun, a videographer and member of the widely successful anti-corruption ‘You Stink’ Movement,
argued that the proposed tax hike is an attempt to distract the
Lebanese people from the election extension. Speaking to Global Voices,
he said:
Ruling politicians are bringing attention to this issue
on purpose, to eclipse the parliamentary extension and political
deadlock between them regarding a new electoral law.
Elections should have taken place in June of 2013, but the parliament extended
its own term for 17 months citing ‘security concerns’. Then, in
November of 2014, citing the need to decide on a new electoral law
before voting, the parliament delayed elections to 2017. This
time, the government is saying the extension is for ‘ technical
reasons’, in reality the parliament has reached a deadlock on the new
electoral law. To put this in perspective, a 28 year old Lebanese citizen has yet to
vote for their parliamentarian of choice despite being legally allowed
to vote since they turned 21. Popular blogger Elie Fares sarcastically
thanked the government or dawleh for the extension on Facebook:
I’m 27 year old, moving to Philadelphia in 2 months, and
I’ve never – nor will I ever at this rate – voted for parliament.
#ThanksDawleh
Taxation without representation
Ramez Dagher, a blogger at Moulahazat,
said that he joined the protests because the government is imposing
taxation without representation. Speaking to Global Voices, he said:
They cannot raise taxes without giving the people the
right to have a say about it. It is pure hypocrisy especially since they
are leading the country towards a third cancelled parliamentary
election. Lebanese politicians made us live in garbage for a year in a
half, deprived us from electricity for decades, breathe corruption, and
now want to raise taxes that will eventually feed that corruption in a
way or another. Enough is enough.
The government is arguing that increased taxes are needed to finance
the salaries of public sectors employees. Both Dagher and Chamoun agree
that Prime Minister Saad Hariri appeal to protesters on Twitter was a
publicity stunt and a strategic step meant to distract the public.
I ask the organizers of the protesters to form a committee to raise their demands and discuss them positively.
His tweet followed his appearance, surrounded by security forces, at
the protest, seemingly attempting to talk to to protesters, who greeted
him with chants of ‘thief!’ and throws of water bottles.
Dagher said that this made him “look as cool, friendly and caring”
and “indirectly threw the responsibility from the government to the
opposition, while also giving something for the protesting groups (who
have nothing in common) to argue about: whether to negotiate with the PM
or not”. Chamoun said that Hariri “wanted to look like the victim.”
Public
discussion organized by Nasser to bring together activists and anyone
concerned to discuss ways of tackling governmental corruption. March 20,
2017. Photo Source: Zeina Nasser Facebook Page.
GV contributor Zeina Nasser,
who has been involved in the protests as both a journalist and an
activist, points out that protesters’ demands are already very clear:
Personally, I think that our demands are clear enough,
and were announced in the protests. There is no need for a committee and
we know that this takes a lot of time in Lebanon. We’re with raising
employees’ salaries but not from the pockets of other Lebanese citizens
who can barely make a living. We’re with finding new ways for financing
that such as a tax raise on maritime public property or projects that
cost millions of dollars.
The tax hike is a smokescreen
Marina Chamma, a writer, activist, and blogger at ‘Eye on the East‘ argued that a tax increase isn’t justified because the government refuses to tackle existing problems:
If only tax evasion, public financial waste, and corruption in the
public sector are fought, this alone could finance the salary scale and
much more. Instead, the government prefers to increase indirect taxes
(such as VAT) and taxes that affect the average citizen (e.g. on
interest on deposits), instead of undertaking a major overhaul of the
taxation system (e.g. increasing direct tax such as income tax to make
it truly progressive) or taxing such sectors as the banking sector that
are considerably under-taxed.
struggling, it is unwilling to tax the very wealthy. An example of that,
as MTV Lebanon explained, is the government’s attitude to wealthy yacht owners:
But activists have more obstacles ahead of them. Not only do they
have to find a way to maintain the momentum and fight against ‘protest
fatigue’, but some are finding difficulties including more sections of
society to make the protests more inclusive. Nasser is among
those trying to organize the movement from the bottom up. She explains
that there is a need to include disenfranchised groups in Lebanon such
as the illiterate, the poor and migrant workers.
We are less hopeful every time a protest ends. I think that a sit-in is a must since it cause more pressure on the government.
