Renewed Protests Across Lebanon over Deteriorating Living Conditions

Arab World

June 27th, 7:54am

Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat

Protesters cut off Tripoli-Akkar highway on Friday (NNA)

Protests involving road closures renewed across Lebanon on Friday as the Lebanese pound tumbled to new lows of 7,000 against the dollar on a parallel market. Protesters took to the streets and blocked roads in several areas. Merchants rushed to close their stores after failing to purchase and sell their goods as the Lebanese pound lost around 80 percent of its value since October. Supermarkets across the country, particularly in villages, were selling only basic commodities while butchers closed their shops after one kilogram of meat reached LL50,000 (around $33 based on the official exchange rate). “The price of meat is set based on two things: the dollar rate and the available dollars in the market,” Gaby Dekermenjian, Chairman of the Syndicate of Exporters and Importers of Meat, Fish, and Frozen Vegetables, told Asharq Al-Awsat. He explained that importers buy the meat based on the exchange rate of 3,850 to 3,900 Lebanese pounds set by the Central Bank at the new electronic trading platform applied by licensed currency dealers. “This means that one kilo of meat ranges between LL22,000 to LL35,000,” the Chairman said. However, Dekermenjian said that in some cases, importers are forced to buy the dollar from the black market if exchange firms lack liquidity. “The price of meat did not increase,” he said, adding that it’s the Lebanese currency that depreciated. He lamented that the government has refused to include meat in the list of rationed products at an official dollar peg of 1,507.5. Demonstrators on Friday blocked for hours the road leading to the South in Barja and Jiyyeh with large trucks before the Lebanese Army intervened to reopen it. In the North, a crowd cut off the Tripoli-Akkar highway and the Minaa-Beirut highway with vehicles, stones, tires and garbage bins in protest at the deteriorating living conditions and electricity rationing. In the capital, a number of protesters stormed the Social Affairs Ministry's building and demanded an immediate meeting with Minister Ramzi Moucharafieh to inform him of their demands. The protesters deemed the ministry "a public place that ought to welcome all and listen to the demands of citizens, especially amid the dire living conditions.” They also accused the Minister of failing to perform his required duties handling people's daily plights. Meanwhile, security forces intervened to convince the angry protesters to leave the ministry building, and later managed to move them to the facility’s entrance hall, the state-run National News Agency reported.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2356921/renewed-protests-across-lebanon-over-deteriorating-living-conditions