A Lebanese anti-government protester, her face painted with colors of the Lebanese flag, during a demonstration in Martyrs’ Square, downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people staged the largest of the demonstrations that began last week over garbage piling up in the streets of Beirut following the closure of a main landfill. 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 even basic services to the people. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese model Miriam Klink, a well known personality and performer, poses during a demonstration against the ongoing trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people gathered Saturday amid tight security in downtown Beirut, for a major rally to protest government corruption and the country’s dysfunctional political system. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese anti-government protesters hold placards during a demonstration in Martyrs’ Square, downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people staged the largest of the demonstrations that began last week over garbage piling up in the streets of Beirut following the closure of a main landfill. 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 even basic services to the people. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese activists wave their national flag during a mass rally against a political class seen as corrupt and incapable of providing basic services on August 29, 2015 in Beirut (AFP Photo/)

BEI003. Beirut (Lebanon), 29/08/2015.- A young Lebanese women is comforted by her boyfriend after she got hurt during a riot police charge to break up a protest in downtown, Beirut, Lebanon, 28 August 2015. Lebanese people’s frustration with the government’s internecine conflicts which have paralyzed the political process has manifested itself in protests over the mounting garbage crisis in the country. (Protestas, Líbano) EFE/EPA/OLIVER WEIKEN

A protester removes a barbed wire during a protest against corruption and against the government’s failure to resolve a crisis over rubbish disposal, in front of the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon August 29, 2015. Thousands of protesters waving Lebanese flags and chanting "revolution" took to the streets of Beirut on Saturday for an unprecedented mobilisation against sectarian politicians they say are incompetent and corrupt. The "You Stink" protest campaign, ignited by a waste crisis, has widened to reflect anger at widely-perceived graft in the political class and the state’s failure to provide basic services. REUTERS/Alia Haju

Lebanese riot policemen walk at the head of a rally with demonstrators heading from the Ministry of Interior to Beirut’s Martyrs Square to protest against a political class seen as corrupt and incapable of providing basic services on August 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/)

Lebanese women hold signs before the start of an anti-government protest on August 29, 2015 at Beirut’s iconic Martyrs Square (AFP Photo/Anwar Amro)

Lebanese anti-government protesters dance during a demonstration in Martyrs’ Square, downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people staged the largest of the demonstrations that began last week over garbage piling up in the streets of Beirut following the closure of a main landfill. 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 even basic services to the people. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

 Lebanese security detain a protester after Lebanese policemen dispersing a rally against the trash crisis and alleged government corruption in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Some thousands of people staged the largest of the demonstrations that began last week over garbage piling up in the streets of Beirut, and 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. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A Lebanese anti-government protester acts the role of a Lebanese politician holding a safe with fake money sticking out, during a demonstration against the trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. hat has dominated Lebanon since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese anti-government protesters paint graffiti that reads in Arabic, "You Stink," during a demonstration against the ongoing trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people gathered Saturday amid tight security in downtown Beirut, for a major rally to protest government corruption and the country’s dysfunctional political system. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A protester wears sunglasses decorated with Lebanese national flags as she takes part in an anti-government protest at Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon August 29, 2015. Thousands of protesters waving Lebanese flags and chanting anti-government slogans converged on a square in central Beirut on Saturday for a rally against political leaders they say are incompetent and corrupt.Their "You Stink" protest campaign was mobilised after the government failed to solve a crisis in trash disposal, leaving piles of refuse rotting in the summer sun. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban

Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks take part in an anti-government protest at Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon August 29, 2015. Thousands of protesters waving Lebanese flags and chanting anti-government slogans converged on a square in central Beirut on Saturday for a rally against political leaders they say are incompetent and corrupt.Their "You Stink" protest campaign was mobilised after the government failed to solve a crisis in trash disposal, leaving piles of refuse rotting in the summer sun. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban

People carry Lebanese national flags as one of them holds up a trash bag on a broom as they take part in an anti-government protest at Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon August 29, 2015. Thousands of protesters waving Lebanese flags and chanting anti-government slogans converged on a square in central Beirut on Saturday for a rally against political leaders they say are incompetent and corrupt.Their "You Stink" protest campaign was mobilised after the government failed to solve a crisis in trash disposal, leaving piles of refuse rotting in the summer sun. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

A Lebanese anti-government protesters hold satirical posters mocking politicians during a demonstration against the ongoing trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people gathered Saturday amid tight security in downtown Beirut, for a major rally to protest government corruption and the country’s dysfunctional political system. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese model Miriam Klink, a well known personality and performer, carries a banner with a slogan that reads in Arabic, "Leave us alone," during a demonstration against the ongoing trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people gathered Saturday amid tight security in downtown Beirut, for a major rally to protest government corruption and the country’s dysfunctional political system. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese anti-government protesters wave Lebanese flags and holds banners during a demonstration against the ongoing trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people gathered Saturday amid tight security in downtown Beirut, for a major rally to protest government corruption and the country’s dysfunctional political system. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A Lebanese anti-government protester holds a placard during a demonstration against the ongoing trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Thousands of people gathered Saturday amid tight security in downtown Beirut, for a major rally to protest government corruption and the country’s dysfunctional political system. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese riot policemen pass under barbed wire barriers, as they start deploying around the government building where anti-government protesters hold their daily demonstrations, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. The London-based rights group Amnesty is calling on Lebanese authorities to investigate allegations that security forces have used excessive force to disperse rallies protesting the government failure to deal with garbage pilling in the streets. The statement comes ahead of a major rally planned in Beirut Saturday amid worries it would also descend into clashes. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Lebanese street vendor sells balloons colored with the Lebanese national flag, for sale before a protest against the trash crisis and government corruption, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man uses his mobile to take pictures as Lebanese army soldiers drive past ahead of a protest in Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon August 29, 2015.

Reuters/Jamal Saidi

 

A general view shows a garbage filled-area on the edge of Beirut river, Lebanon August 29, 2015.

Reuters/Jamal Saidi

 

globalvoicesonline.org

Lebanese protesters today gave the government a 72 hour ultimatum to meet their demands or face further protests on Tuesday. The demands include the resignation of Environment Minister Muhammed El-Machnouk and a permanent, sustainable solution to the garbage crisis, which initially took the people to the streets.

Earlier today, up to 250,000 protesters turned up at Martyr’ Square, where they continued to protest for a sustainable solution to the country’s mounting garbage problem.

The demands, published on the Tol3et Re7atkom (You Stink) Facebook page, were shared on Twitter by Lebanese blogger and activist Joey Ayoub, who is also a Global Voices Online author and a You Stink movement member:

Other demands are holding accountable all those who have wasted public funds during the last period and holding accountable the minister of interior and all those who gave orders to open fire at the protesters.

Rami Khouri described the demands as “reasonable” but warned that failure to ensure them would mean the end of the You Stink movement.

Estimate btw 200 000 & 250 000 protesters

Zeina Karam, AP

To the casual visitor, Lebanon may seem like a tiny slice of Mediterranean modernity and coexistence in a turbulent region plagued by violence and extremism.

But for many Lebanese, it’s a rotting state eaten away by a political class that has long used the country’s sectarian power-sharing system to perpetuate corruption and nepotism.

And while recent protests over uncollected trash have challenged an arrangement almost universally denounced by Lebanese, they also can’t seem to shake it. Many argue that system is what has allowed the country of 4.5 million people from 18 recognized and often rival sects to survive.

Middle-east Monitor The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and its Christian political allies have boycotted a cabinet meeting yesterday, highlighting the growing political tension that has paralysed the country’s national unity government led by Prime Minister Tammam Salam. The cabinet meeting was not attended by the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), led by Christian politician Michel Aoun, […]

AP

Security forces have orders to show restraint at a planned mass protest against Lebanon’s government this weekend, but will not tolerate attempts by "thugs" to make trouble, Lebanon’s interior minister said Friday.

Two rallies in the capital of Beirut last weekend drew 20,000 people, and dozens were hurt in clashes between protesters and security forces at the time.

hrw.org

(Beirut) – Lebanese authorities should take immediate measures to ensure that there is no repeat of violence against protestors in downtown Beirut and that perpetrators of violent attacks are held accountable, Human Rights Watch said today.

Lebanese security personnel used rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, water cannons, butts of rifles, and batons to control protesters on August 22 and 23 in downtown Beirut. Security forces also fired live ammunition, reportedly in the air, to disperse protesters.

Catholic Herald magazine

When I first moved to Dayr Mar Elian in the summer of 2001 I was slightly disconcerted when the Qurwani, as the people of Qaryatayn are known, kept asking me if I had met Mar Elian yet. Since he is believed to have died more than 1,500 years ago, I thought that they meant had I seen the sarcophagus, which of course I had. When I said this I was somewhat perplexed to realise that I had misunderstood the question (complicated, of course, by my faltering Arabic and their thick regional dialect).

catholicherald.co.uk

The Maronite Archbishop of Damascus has spoken about the moment bombs rained down on his neighbourhood – killing nine people and injuring 50.

Two churches were the target of “a rain of mortars” on Sunday, August 23 – with shells crashing through the archbishop’s church roof. “Part of the war in Syria is to live under indiscriminate bombing,” Archbishop Samir Nassar said, “a kind of Russian roulette which is always unpredictable.”

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Tammam Salam heads a cabinet meeting at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon August 27, 2015. The Lebanese group Hezbollah and allied Christian politicians are boycotting the cabinet meeting, deepening a political crisis that has paralyzed Prime Minister Salam’s national unity government. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

n this Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015, file photo, a Lebanese protester chants slogans against the Lebanese government during a demonstration against the ongoing trash crisis, at the Martyrs square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. Her placard in Arabic read: "We got nothing from you but garbage." Starting out as a small group of tech-savvy young activists who organized to protest the garbage that for weeks has been piling up on Beirut’s streets, Lebanon’s "You Stink" movement has now grown into a popular uprising that seeks to nip at the power base of an entire political class. Arabic on sign reads: ‘Nothing comes from you but garbage’. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol downtown Beirut, during a protest against the trash crisis and government corruption, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. Hundreds of people have kept up protests in Beirut as a crisis over garbage collection worsens with fresh piles of trash accumulating in streets of the capital. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People chant slogans and carry signs as they take part in a march from downtown Beirut towards the American University of Beirut (AUB) hospital, August 26, 2015, to express solidarity with a protester who was injured during clashes with police on Sunday.

The Lebanese group Hezbollah and allied Christian politicians will boycott a cabinet meeting on Thursday, deepening a political crisis that has paralyzed Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s national unity government.

Media run by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) of Christian politician Michel Aoun, the Shi’ite group’s main Christian ally, reported that Salam had been informed of the decision, but did not immediately give a reason for it.

Ministers from Hezbollah and Aoun’s FPM walked out of a cabinet session on Tuesday. They are in dispute with other members of the government over issues including decrees passed without their approval.

REUTERS/Aziz Taher

The Wall Street Journal –

Lebanon’s convoluted system of governance has taken center stage this week, as public service demonstrations swell on the streets of downtown Beirut.  The Mediterranean country’s current political system was forged after a 15-year civil war that ended in 1989 with the Saudi Arabian-negotiated Taif Agreement. Its parliamentary government system is based on securing representation for the country’s numerous religious sects. The system gives relatively small parties disproportionate political weight, enough to block important legislation.