Two days after the new Lebanese government, headed by Hassan Diab, won the confidence vote, the Lebanese revolutionaries are back to the streets, organizing marches and protesting.
The majority of Lebanese MPs who attended the session voted for the new government, but the people persist in refusing to give their confidence.
The ‘No Trust’ campaign was all over Lebanon since the government was first formed, which is around three weeks ago, and even across the diaspora.
Despite the people’s objection and their fierce resistance outside the parliament, the line-up of Hassan Diab managed to obtain the Parliament’s confidence on February 11th.
It wasn’t easy, though; the massive crowd of protesters made sure of that. The MPs struggled to get past them in downtown Beirut to reach the Parliament.
Some failed to enter, while some arrived with broken windows and eggs smashed all over their cars. The revolutionaries, however, are far from giving up on their demands.
The Path to Victory is Long, this is what they chanted while marching Beirut’s streets on Thursday 13 February, sending a strong message to the officials that they don’t intend to stop whatever the period of time it will take them.
A large number of people resumed their protests, and for numerous reasons. As of yet, they are being ignored in their demands as if they and their 16 weeks of relentless protests are irrelevant to the state.
Their revolutionary chants ever since October 17th and now again echoed as they marched forward.
The revolutionaries still have their minds in the right direction. They didn’t only march the city’s streets on Thursday but also held a protest outside the Central Bank in Hamra.
They continue to protest against the Lebanese banks’ arbitrary system and their oppressive measures of capital control.
They’ve been holding the people’s money hostage, limiting withdrawals to unstainable amounts, and then adding penalty fees when people can’t pay their loans on time. This scenario is happening a lot right now.
People continue also protesting against oppression. The revolutionaries are being attacked by security forces, politicians’ bodyguards, political parties’ supporters, and “unknown” thugs now more than ever.
The most recent to be exposed to such violent acts is the Lebanese journalist Mohammad Zbib.
A day earlier, on Wednesday, February 12th, journalist Zbib gave a seminar about financial policies and banking procedures at The Secular Club in Hamra. He was ambushed and physically assaulted on his way out by unknown thugs in the parking lot; obviously targetted.
The number of arrests and summons for questioning have been increasing. A day earlier, five revolutionaries were arrested in Sidon, which led the residents to take to the streets in protest.
It seems like every act of oppression pushes the people further into revolting. The revolutionaries are not easily intimidated, for they always come back stronger and fiercer, as we’ve been witnessing.
As they said, the path to victory is long and full of obstacles and they intend to come out of this victorious.
Calls for more protests are circulating online; notably, a march that will take off on February 15th from Sassine Square in Ashrafieh under the slogan: No Trust, No Legitimacy.