The Lebanese capital Beirut and the Mount Lebanon region witnessed protests by bank customers and depositors in front of a number of banks, demanding to obtain their deposits and recover their money, and to denounce the failure to find a solution to their issue.
Depositors staged sit-ins and demonstrations in front of the Central Bank of Lebanon building, a number of banks, and in front of the Parliament building in Beirut, protesting the failure to find a solution to the issue of deposits held in banks. Protesters also smashed the glass facades of banks, and some tried to set them on fire.
According to what was reported by the Lebanese official news agency, this came during a stand called for by the “Depositors’ Cry” Association, during which some depositors attacked banks operating in the country.
Dozens of demonstrators set fire to the entrance of the Lebanese-French Bank in Dora (north of Beirut), and smashed the facades of some banks.
In a statement broadcast during their gathering, the protesters demanded that officials “find a solution to their deposits held in banks after five years of waiting.”
According to the association’s statement, the demonstrators gathered in front of Al-Amin Mosque and headed towards targets identified by the association in the Dora area, where the Lebanese-French Bank was attacked first, followed by the Arab Bank, Emirates Lebanon Bank, and the Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries.
The statement added: “Depositors set tires on fire in front of the aforementioned banks in protest against the theft of deposits and the large monthly fees deducted from accounts.”
The Minister of Displaced Persons in the caretaker government, Issam Sharaf al-Din, and the two members of parliament, Najat Saliba and Melhem Khalaf, participated in the sit-ins, and they confirmed their “support for the depositors’ demands and their standing by their side.”
The protesters raised banners that “reject any law that does not restore the rights of depositors,” and demanded “holding the corrupt accountable and recovering the stolen funds.”
The protesters called on every depositor to “not stay at home watching, but to participate in demonstrations and sit-ins to achieve legitimate, legal and legitimate demands.”
It is noteworthy that Lebanon has been suffering from a financial and economic crisis since 2019, which has led to banks refraining from handing over deposits to depositors.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Lebanon is facing an unprecedented banking and sovereign monetary crisis. Since the beginning of the crisis, the economy has contracted by nearly 40%, the Lebanese pound has lost 98% of its value, and inflation has reached unprecedented rates.
Last update: August 30, 2024 – 00:36
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2024-09-01 08:59:53