Protesters reject confidence vote on new Lebanon government

A demonstrator uses a slingshot to throw a stone during a protest against the newly formed government near the government headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon Jan. 25, 2020. (Reuters)

Lebanese anti-government demonstrators gather by barricades set by security forces to block a road leading to the government headquarter at the Grand Serail, in downtown Beirut, on Jan. 25, 2020. (AFP)

A Lebanese anti-government protester uses a flare during a demonstration near government headquarters at the Grand Serail, in downtown Beirut, on Jan. 25, 2020. (AFP)

A demonstrator holds the Lebanese flag during a protest against the newly formed government outside the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon Jan. 25, 2020. (Reuters)

• Protestors consider the new government an extension of previous ones accused of corruption
• Parliament is expected to hold legislative sessions over two days from Monday to discuss the 2020 budget that was prepared by the former government before it resigned

BEIRUT: Protesters in Beirut on Saturday carried banners expressing their objections to the granting on Jan. 21 of a confidence vote on the government of Hassan Diab.
They consider the new government an extension of previous ones accused of corruption. Streets leading to the Parliament were blocked by high concrete walls to ward off any attempt to break through the security cordon around the building.
Parliament is expected to hold legislative sessions over two days from Monday to discuss the 2020 budget that was prepared by the former government of Saad Hariri before it resigned on Oct. 29 under pressure from peaceful demonstrations.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Parliament cannot discuss any task before voting on the 2020 budget plan. This means the confidence vote cannot be held before the budget is endorsed.
Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the new government has to “work on a new draft budget that includes reform plans, with a timeline to implement them.”
Activist Mohammed Kassem told Arab News: “All signs indicate that Diab’s government will head to Parliament to endorse the previous government’s budget that’s full of flaws, especially with regards to the reform pledge.”
He said: “Protesters will step up their actions on the streets until they get a rescue plan, end banks’ policies and their restrictions on people’s deposits, end the Central Bank’s financial policies, and achieve the independence of the judiciary so judges will be able to handle cases with full transparency, especially ones related to recovering embezzled public assets.”
He added: “Activists are trying to forbid political parties from riding the wave of the revolution, and are trying to limit rioting, which has characterized many protests.”
Kassem called on the authorities to protect protesters rather than attack them. He said protesters will remain on the streets to change Lebanon from a “country of banks and money exchange to a productive country.”
There has been leaked information that the government will propose a five-month contingency plan to reform the judiciary; fight illicit enrichment, corruption and economic crime; and modernize public institutions.