BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) Lebanon will not hold its traditional annual celebration of Independence Day at the Baabda presidential palace because of the complicated situation in the country, the press office of the Lebanese Presidency said in a statement on Thursday.
Lebanon was scheduled to celebrate its Independence Day from the French mandate in 1943 on Friday.
"Department of General Relations of the Presidency announces that due to the current situation in the country, the annual traditional celebration of Independence Day at the Presidential Palace in Baabda was canceled," the statement read.
Rallies in Lebanon were triggered on October 17 by the government's intent to introduce a tax on internet calls via WhatsApp messenger. The measure was subsequently scrapped and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri had his cabinet dismissed, but the worsening living standards amid economic crisis kept people in the streets. Rallies grew violent as clashes between the protesters and police became commonplace, to the point that the government had to order the military to refrain from using heavy force. On Tuesday, a parliament session was disrupted by a mass demonstration in Beirut.
