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Mass Protests Have Followed The Beirut Explosion. What's Next?
by npr.org -- As terrible as last week's explosion at Beirut's port was, killing 172 people and injuring some 6,000 others, it has prompted new hopes for political change in Lebanon. On Monday, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet resigned, as it emerged that the blast was likely the result of government negligence. Now Lebanese are calling for major reforms. Daily protests have continued for more than a week on Beirut's debris-strewn streets, with citizens calling for removal of the entire political class and a restructuring of the country's political system. They want to sweep away the corruption and cronyism that have plagued governmental institutions for decades. The combination of last week's explosion and the financial crisis may have created a rare window for removing Lebanon's despised political class altogether, political analysts suggest. This moment represents a "once-in-a-lifetime battle for the soul of Lebanon," says Nadim Houry, a Lebanese citizen and director of the Paris-based Arab Reform Initiative, a pro-democracy think tank. Enormous challenges remain. Here's what's at stake and how things may play out: Immediate elections are unlikely Although Diab's administration has stepped down, it continues to meet as a caretaker government, meaning the cabinet can still convene but does not have the power to create new legislation. Thus far, Lebanon's leaders have made no mention of early elections. Instead, Lebanese law allows President Michel Aoun, who did not resign, to consult with the parliament on forming a new government. Even before this crisis, putting together a new government involved a complicated discussion. After the previous government fell last year, following massive anti-corruption protests, it took more than two months of political wrangling among the country's different political blocs before Diab's government was appointed. Now many Lebanese do not trust Aoun and other leaders to choose the honest, independent administration for which they are desperate. They worry that any new government formed this way will be stacked with or influenced by the same political figures, whom Houry calls "oligarchs," who have long controlled the country. "We'll have to re-live the same scenario from the beginning, until we bring all the political class down," warns Ghina Nizar Harb, a schoolteacher who took to the streets to protest following Diab's resignation. |