Lebanese Parliament starts work in a theatre, as protests resume — in cars

Lebanese parliamentarians met for the first time since protests began in February in a bid to deal with the country’s spiralling economic and political crises.

In an effort to observe social-distancing measures lawmakers are meeting in a theatre in Beirut.

Marking the new move by parliament, protesters drove around Beirut honking from their cars while still trying to observe social-distancing rules. 

The country’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab and parliamentarians were greeted at the theatre by healthcare workers disinfecting officials amid a high-security presence.

The three-day parliamentary session will be a marathon process attempting to deal with laws that have remained frozen including those fighting corruption, restoring looted funds and allowing the planting of cannabis for medical use. 

Lebanon imposed a lockdown in March in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus. The country has seen more than 600 infections and 21 deaths.

During the last few months as the cost of living has soared, thousands of people have lost their jobs or had their wages cut.

Lebanese people have experienced high levels of discontent with their politicians, whom they see as largely being out of touch with the everyday needs of people.

Critics of the Lebanese Parliament argue that priorities are skewed towards helping their friends. As an example, they argue that the current amnesty law being considered in parliament could help those that have committed criminal acts, such as terrorism by suspending pardoning perpetrators.  

Human Rights Watch has said the law, if it passes, “would likely have further entrenched impunity, including for corruption, in the country.”

People in Lebanon had refused to end their protests even though a new government was announced in January this year, led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, a 60-year-old professor at the American University of Beirut.

Many Lebanese demand a technocratic government saying they are tired of the corruption and the never-ending economic crisis.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, Beirut’s streets have been deserted.

Lebanon has been without a government since former prime minister Saad Hariri resigned in October due to pressure from protesters regarding state corruption. 

The value of the Lebanese pound has plummeted at levels not seen even during the depths of the 1980s civil war and there has been a sharp increase in poverty. 

The Financial Times warned that the economic pain in Lebanon could grow worse as the government seeks to manage its ballooning debt, which is more than 170 percent of GDP, one of the highest in the world. 

Even as the pandemic has resulted in protests fizzling out, activists are adamant in attempting to hold the government to account. 

One of the protesters said: “We are here to tell them that the revolution will stay, the revolution will not die and we are going back to the streets stronger than before.”