Lebanese anti-government protesters call for Saturday rally

BEIRUT — Lebanese protest organisers called for a fresh demonstration against the government on Saturday after two days of rallies that turned violent in central Beirut and wounded scores of people.

The "You Stink" campaign has mobilised against the government's failure to solve a garbage disposal crisis, bringing thousands of people onto the streets in protests that have threatened the survival of the Cabinet.

On Monday, workers erected concrete blast walls around the government headquarters. Security forces deployed heavily in central Beirut where some streets remained littered with broken glass and charred debris from clashes the night before.

Organisers at a televised news conference on Monday did not say where the weekend protest would take place. They had initially planned to rally on Monday but postponed following the violence.

The "You Stink" campaign has mobilised independently of the big sectarian parties that dominate Lebanese politics. It is a sign of how long-simmering frustration at Lebanon's political deadlock has boiled over into anger.

The fractured Cabinet and parliament are paralysed, the political class has been unable to agree on a new president for over a year while the Syrian civil war next door has whipped up sectarian tension.

The UN special coordinator for Lebanon on Monday urged "maximum restraint" by all sides in the protests.

The interior minister said 99 members of the security forces and 61 civilians had been injured in the events.

Protesters blame political feuding and corruption for the failure to resolve the waste crisis that has in recent weeks left piles of uncollected trash festering in the summer sun.

Environment Minister Mohamad Al Machnouk earlier on Monday named companies that had won waste management tenders in Lebanon's regions.

The national unity government led by Prime Minister Tammam Salam has been mostly hamstrung since it came to office last year, paralysed by rivalries among politicians that have been exacerbated by crises in the wider region.

Salam, frustrated at the failings of his government, on Sunday threatened to resign, saying the bigger problem in the country was its "political garbage", in an attack on the politicians who are bickering over top security posts.

Security forces used water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators, some of whom threw stones and sticks at riot police during battles in central Beirut on Sunday. The organisers have blamed the violence on troublemakers who they believe are connected to rival sectarian parties.

"Lebanon on brink of chaos", the headline of the Daily Star newspaper said. "Infiltrators hijack the You Stink revolution", said the An-Nahar newspaper. The As-Safir newspaper called it "the Aug. 22 Intifada", or uprising.

Breaking point

Conflict in the Middle East, including the war in neighbouring Syria, has strained Lebanon's sectarian system of government to breaking point. The presidency is reserved for a Christian and has been left vacant for a year and parliamentary elections have been postponed.

The Salam Cabinet, formed last year with the blessing of regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, has avoided a complete vacuum in the executive arm. It groups rival Lebanese parties including the Future movement led by Sunni politician Saad Al Hariri, Shiite Hizbollah, and competing Christians.

But it has struggled to take even basic decisions, including agreeing a plan for Beirut's waste when the city's garbage dump was shut last month.

Tension in Cabinet has escalated in recent weeks over appointments in the security agencies and army.

In the absence of any broad deal on who should replace outgoing security chiefs, the terms of incumbents including army commander General Jean Kahwaji were extended in recent weeks.

That has infuriated one of the main Christian parties, the Free Patriotic Movement led by Michel Aoun, an ally of the powerful Hizbollah. Aoun is seeking the appointment of his son-in-law, a top army commander, as the next army chief.

The Free Patriotic Movement accuses Salam of usurping presidential powers but it has not quit his Cabinet.

Salam's threat to resign has fueled concern of a bigger crisis. He said that if a Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday was not productive on issues including a tender to decide on a new refuse collection company, "there would be no necessity for the government after it".

Should it collapse, his government would stay on in the caretaker capacity. However, his resignation would trigger a constitutional crisis because in Lebanon it is the president who appoints the prime minister.