Lebanon's Saad Hariri's govt scrambles to respond to mass protests

Protesters closed major ros around Leban ahe of an emergency Cabinet meeting on Monday, as politicians scrambled to put toger a rescue plan for country's crumbling ecomy and stem five days of mass anti-government protests. Demonstrators placed barriers across major intersections in Beirut as well as or cities and towns across country. Schools, universities, banks and government institutions remain shuttered as country is gripped by largest protests since so-called Cedar Revolution in 2005.

Hundreds of thousands participated in Sunday's marches in downtown Beirut, in what has turned into a widening revolt against country's sectarian status-quo and entire political elite. outr over Hariri government's mismanment of ecomic crisis and proposed new taxes has unified Leban's often fractious society.

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Prime Minister Sa Hariri has given his government — an unwieldy national coalition of nine largely sectarian parties — a deline that expires Monday evening to come up with convincing solutions to ecomic crisis. He is expected to put forward a reform plan during Cabinet's morning meeting at presidential palace in Beirut's souastern suburb of Baabda.
Amid unrest, Lebanese troops were deployed on main ro to palace to clear way for Hariri and government ministers to reach Baabda.

Local media reported that Hariri government's plan includes measures such as raising taxes on country's banking sector, cutting salaries of top officials, legislators, and ministers by half, abolishing taxes imposed recently and fixing electricity sector that has cost state coffers billions of dollars over past years.

Many protesters say y don't trust any plan by current government. y've called on 30-member Cabinet to resign and be replaced by a smaller one me up of techcrats inste of members of political factions. protests are building on long-simmering anger at a ruling class that has divvied up power among mselves and amassed wealth for deces but has done little to fix a crumbling ecomy and dilapidated infrastructure.

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"I am with reforms. I am against destruction of Leban," said Rabih Zghaib a protester in Beirut. "Leban has been bly damd by politicians for 30 years. Today ir thrones are shaking."

Iran on Leban protests

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamm Jav Zarif expressed hope that Leban's government and political parties pay "attention to people's demands," semi-official Fars news ncy reported. It was first remarks by an Iranian official about protests in Leban.

Iran enjoys wide influence in Leban through militant Hezbollah organization that is armed and funded by Tehran. Hezbollah and its allies have a majority of seats in Leban's parliament and Cabinet. In 2005, Leban witnessed protests and a mass uprising against Syria's occupation of country, after Damascus was blamed for assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a large car bomb.

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