Lebanon is in the grip of the largest popular protests seen there since 2015, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to urge the resignation of the government. Demonstrators from across the sectarian and political spectrum led a general strike on Monday, days after people started protesting on October 17.
The rallies were sparked by the Lebanese government’s announcement of a planned daily tax on the use of WhatsApp, Skype and other voice-over-internet services. For many Lebanese struggling to makes end meet, it was the final straw. While the government quickly dropped the tax, the protests have mushroomed into a wider call for wholesale changes to Lebanon’s sectarian system of government, one dominated by long-standing political dynasties that many people accuse of unchecked corruption.
A string of cabinet-approved reforms announced by prime minister Saad Hariri are not enough for the protesters and they are continuing to call for the government’s resignation and for fresh elections to be held. But in a highly constrained political system that reserves offices by sect, is real political change for the benefit of ordinary people even possible?
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