Lebanon's President Michel Aoun said on Monday that the government should have lifted banking secrecy from accounts of all ministers amid the ongoing mass anti-government protests in the country
DAMASCUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2019) Lebanon's President Michel Aoun said on Monday that the government should have lifted banking secrecy from accounts of all ministers amid the ongoing mass anti-government protests in the country.
"The situation on the streets is the expression of people's pain, but is is not fair to totally accuse everybody of corruption. Therefore, it is necessary to start with removing banking secrecy from the accounts of all current and future ministers," Aoun said on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, Aoun discussed the situation in the country with Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Lebanese protesters took to the streets in Beirut on Monday, blocking the main streets in the capital and the northern route in what is the fifth straight day of anti-government protests. The unrest follows calls for a general strike sparked by the government's attempts to raise money from a tobacco tax and internet calls, but the focus has now turned to its failure to address the economic crisis. Activists set trash cans and tires on fire and are building barricades from materials at hand. Banks, government offices, universities, schools and large stores are closed.
Hariri said on Sunday that he was considering halving ministerial salaries and abolishing some government committees in a bid to save money.
Since Thursday, Beirut and other cities in Lebanon have been gripped by protests with the demonstrators demanding that the government resign and action be taken to cope with the worsening economic situation. With the nation's debt expected to pass 150 percent of its gross domestic product, the Lebanese government is in a race against the clock to agree on reforms needed to unlock billions in foreign aid.
