Examiner Staff

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Thousands of Lebanese protesters gathered in downtown Beirut Saturday for one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in the country’s history.

Protesters threatened to return to the streets if the government fails to respond to their demands in 72-hours.

The demands include the resignation of Minister of the Environment Mohamad Machnouk and a permanent solution to the garbage crisis.

But Machnouk already announced he would not resign during this “critical stage” in Lebanon’s history.

“There is joint responsibility,” he said in comments to An-Nahar newspaper. “The resignation of the Cabinet is out of the question for all political powers because it means a leap into a vacuum and chaos.”

The activist group ‘You Stink’ started the movement earlier this month in response to the widely reported trash crisis, which began when residents south of Beirut barricaded a landfill to complain of toxic fumes.

“We are still in the beginning,” said Rasha Halabi, ‘You Stink’ representative. Halabi added that protesters would widen their demands to include new parliamentary elections, if the government doesn’t act swiftly.

The protests on Saturday drew thousands of Lebanese citizens of all sects, chanting against government corruption and marching from the Interior Ministry to Martyrs’ Square downtown.

A row of ambulances and security forces remained in full force to prevent protesters from breaching barricades near parliament. But police didn’t intervene until the late evening, when a lingering crowd of protesters attempted to break through barbed wire.

Similar protests escalated into violence last weekend, prompting officials to arrest dozens and fire water cannons and tear gas at demonstrators.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam threatened to resign last week, warning rival parties that the state could face collapse.

“I warn that we are going are going towards collapse if matters continue,” Salam said in a televised address last week. “Frankly, I have not and will not be a partner in this collapse. Let all officials and political forces bear their responsibilities.”

Lebanese diaspora communities around the world have also joined in solidarity with Beirut protesters. Protests were reported in Washington DC, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Paris, Boston, and Detroit.

WATCH: Group protests in front of Lebanese Consulate in Detroit:

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon’s prime minister threatened to resign on Sunday, warning rival parties in his unity cabinet that the state faced collapse because of paralysis that has come to a head with its failure to resolve a crisis over rubbish disposal.

Protesters called for a second day of demonstrations against Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s cabinet on Sunday after at least 35 people were injured on Saturday night when security forces used water cannons and tear gas to disperse several thousand demonstrators in central Beirut.

Salam’s government has suffered almost complete paralysis since it took office last year as wider crises in the Middle East, including the war in neighboring Syria, have exacerbated Lebanon’s own political and sectarian divisions.

“I warn that we are going are going towards collapse if matters continue,” Salam said in a televised address. “Frankly, I have not and will not be a partner in this collapse. Let all officials and political forces bear their responsibilities.”

He described as excessive the force used against protesters on Saturday and said those responsible would be held to account.

On Sunday, several hundred protesters gathered near the government headquarters on Sunday chanting anti-government slogans. Activists called for a bigger protest later in the day.

Their campaign “You Stink” is a response to trash being left uncollected in and around Beirut last month when a refuse tip closed, with no agreement on an alternative. While collection has resumed, no solution has been found.

“POLITICAL GARBAGE”

The Salam government brings together rival Lebanese parties, including the Sunni-led Future Movement of Saad al-Hariri, Shi’ite Hezbollah, and competing Christian groups.

Should it collapse, Salam’s government would stay on in the caretaker capacity. However, his resignation would trigger a constitutional crisis. In Lebanon, it is the president who appoints the prime minister, but the presidency has been vacant since last year.

Salam 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”.

“The trash is the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the story is much bigger than this straw. It is the story of the political garbage in the country and the political trash in the country,” Salam said.

He also warned the heavily indebted government would be unable to pay salaries next month. Unable to issue new debt, it risked being classified “among the failing states”.

Lebanon’s public debt currently stands at about 143 percent of gross domestic product, a government source said.

Reuters