Lebanon Faced No External Pressure Either Before, During Protests - Senior Official

BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2019) Lebanon faced external pressure neither before the eruption of massive anti-government protests, nor during them, acting Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Last month, the leader of the Shia Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, said that the protests in Lebanon were backed by some foreign countries, which want the middle East nation to face a new civil war.

"There was no pressure both before and after the eruption of the unrest. There are only remarks, which we hear, that the international community is deliberately exerting pressure on the Lebanese foreign policy and the whole situation in the country, but that is not true," Hasbani said.

The official stressed that the international community had only a right to demand transparency in spending financial aid by Beirut.

"There are no hints that any country asks more than were have agreed on. These demands are linked only to reforms," Hasbani added.

The protests in Lebanon began on October 17 after the government said it would introduce a tax on internet calls made via the WhatsApp messenger. Despite the measure being scrapped, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his cabinet being dismissed, people have remained in the streets to demand economic reforms, specifically in the banking sector.

The rallies have grown violent and are now often accompanied by clashes between protesters and police. The situation has escalated to the point that the government was forced to order the military to refrain from using excessive force against protesters.