Dozens of Lebanese protest against the ‘confessional’ system

A number of protesters were wounded on their way to Parliament in Beirut to protest against confessionalism, the London-based Dar al-Hayat reported on Friday.

Unlike previous demonstrations and sit-ins, which were mainly held around Parliament, this time protesters attempted to enter the building itself, but security forces halted their efforts, causing injuries to 11 people.

The Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth has condemned the security force’s violence over what they termed was a peaceful demonstration and said around 11 of the protesters were arrested.

The Union said that others were arrested in different places for their demonstrations against high fuel prices.

“We reject this practice [of arresting protesters]. The voice of people can never be hushed down,” the paper reported the Union as saying.

The Union said that it would plan a campaign in solidarity with those arrested until they are released.

The National News Agency said that a number of citizens on Thursday blocked a highway in Beirut by burning tires to protest against confessionalism in Lebanon.

Early April, thousands of Lebanese rallied in Beirut calling for an end to the “system of power-sharing along religious lines which they blame for the majority of problems afflicting the tiny Mediterranean nation,” reported Agence-France Presse.

Lebanon’s system of government is rooted in a 1943 power-sharing agreement along confessional lines adopted after the country won its independence from France.

Government jobs are also allocated according to religious affiliations.

There are 18 religious sects in Lebanon whose population is just over four million. According to the power-sharing agreement, the president has to be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shiite.

In comparison to other Middle Eastern countries, Lebanon’s protesters were dispersed and sprouted, with no shots fired by security forces. The early April rally against confessionalism also did not gain further momentum.

(Dina Al-Shibeeb of Al Arabiya can be contacted at [email protected])