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Lebanese Banks Reopen After 2-Week Closure Due to Anti-Government Protests

Wayne Lee

   AMMAN, JORDAN - Lebanese banks reopened Friday after closing two weeks
   ago amid nationwide anti-government protests that have crippled the
   country.

   Much of the protesters' ire has been directed at the banks, which they
   perceive to be part of the political establishment that has been
   accused of rampant corruption and the provision of poor public
   services.

   Officials were concerned the reopenings would prompt widespread savings
   withdrawals, but the banks appeared to have been operating normally by
   midday.

   The reopenings came as the demonstrations entered a third week, during
   which protesters and security forces have faced off in an ongoing civil
   disobedience campaign to oust the country's ruling elite.

   Citizens demanding political change have been maintaining roadblocks
   across the tiny Mediterranean country, only allowing security and
   medical personnel through.

   Protesters are standing in rare national unity, also demanding a
   complete overhaul of Lebanon's sectarian-based politics.

   Jordanian political analyst Labib Kamhawi says the widespread
   discontent among Lebanese citizens and their demands to end the entire
   structure of governance have been expected for some time, and now the
   Lebanese -- be they Christian, Sunni, Shi'ite or Druze -- say they have
   had enough.

   "The continuous deterioration in all aspects of life, including
   environmental issues, rampant corruption, the garbage issue a couple of
   years ago, now the fires that hit Lebanon and destroyed a good lot of
   its greenery, unfair taxation introduced by the draft budget, which was
   canceled, created a feeling amongst Lebanese that they are all in the
   same boat and a general conviction that they cannot trust the political
   status quo," Kamhawi said. "All of these guys are corrupt, and they
   have to go. This prosperous nation has become really poor."

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