By Adnan El-Ghoul
Beirut, Lebanon, May 29— A demonstration in Beirut, Lebanon,
on May 28, organized by the Genral Labor Confederation to support a
taxi drivers’ union in its protest against soaring gasoline prices,
turned bloody when the Lebanese Army opened fire on participants. Six
people were shot dead and dozens wounded.
Following the shootings, demonstrators stormed the Labor Ministry in
south Beirut and set it on fire, severly damaging it.
While securing main roads leading to the airport and other essential
destinations on May 28, the army withdrew its troops from the southern
suburbs and redeployed its units away from angry crowds in Hay al-Sellom
and other suburbs, where thousands of mourners chanting anti-government
slogans gathered to bury their dead.
Tensions remained high among rioters who took to the streets in several
areas including Bourj al-Barajneh, Hay al-Sellom and Hadath, setting
up roadblocks of burning tires and disrupting traffic movement from
one neighborhood to another.
But with the security forces out of the way to avoid any potential clashes,
the crowds dispersed peacefully from most areas and the demonstrations
ended within hours.
Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who was supposed to give
a May 28 news conference regarding the violence, postponed the conference
indefinitely.
Mount Lebanon pro-Hizbullah MP Ali Ammar told reporters that “from
the start, Hizbullah had repeatedly called upon the army units to withdraw
and avoid confrontations with angry crowds and we still believe the
Internal Security Forces, not the army, should have handled such crowds.”
“On [May 27] we participated in the demonstration to express dissatisfaction
with the government’s economic policies not to clash with security
forces,” said Mohammed Miqdad, whose brother was among those wounded,
adding: “A simple and serious investigation into what happened
yesterday would reveal the real culprits who caused such atrocious unrest.”
Eyewitnesses reported that Hizbullah members and supporters were watching
out to track down any would-be snipers who might take rooftop positions
during the night.
Local inhabitants did not send their children to school on May 28; schoolchildren
were stranded at school by the violence and its repercussions until
late the previous evening.
The military prosecutor, Judge John Fahd, pursued preliminary investigations
involving some 80 detainees -- over half of thoser arrested -- suspected
of taking part in or witnessing the sequence of events that left the
Labor Ministry in flames. Fahd also convened with the military police
commander, Brigadier Nabil Ghafry, to discuss the latest developments
and findings following the clashes.
Fahd said the total number of those arrested and in the custody of the
military police reached 124, while another seven suspects were in the
custody of the army’s Intelligence Directorate. State Prosecutor
Adnan Addoum confirmed that investigations were under way to determine
the reasons behind the clash and whether there was any plot to cause
the riot.
In Baalbek and Hermel, tensions heightened as news of the clashes broke
out. With roadblocks still up from the day before, the bodies arrived
at their respective towns and villages.
In Hermel, angry drivers drove their mini-buses into the cemetery reminding
the mourners of the original cause of the clashes: soaring gasoline
prices.
There is also increasing anger in Lebanon over government economic policies,
which are seen by many to have led to the country’s $42 billion
debt and growing poverty.
In the Bekaa village of Younin, one of whose residents was killed on
May 27, villagers assembled and issued a declaration condemning the
shooting of innocent demonstrators, and declaring “that all ministers
and MPs [Members of Parliament] are not welcomed in their village and
their condolences are not accepted.”
In the name of the Hermel branch of the Union of Mini-van and Taxi Drivers,
member Ashraf Hamade addressed a drivers’ sit-in in front of Hermel
Governor’s House, saying, “As we bury our innocent victims,
we insist on the peaceful nature of our continued sit-in in protesting
the government’s policies. We also call for punishing those officials
or individuals who turned a peaceful demonstration into a bloody scene.”
Source: The Daily Star (Lebanon)
