The "Lawyer" wrote: Who is suffocating the Lebanese with the lira after the dollar, deposits, prices, and the destruction that has befallen every neighborhood, town, city, capital, province, and home? To date, the Lebanese Central Bank, along with both large and small operating banks, is suffocating the Lebanese, sometimes by withholding deposits, sometimes with a dollar exchange rate that eats away at their savings, sometimes with bank checks, and today with a ceiling that is incapable of meeting even the simplest withdrawal needs and handling social aid as if it were a favor from bank owners and financiers, rather than a responsibility of the Lebanese state, which decrees that only 60% of it should be disbursed in Lebanese currency, based on what it described as a circular from the Central Bank.
In contrast, Judge Ghada Aoun, the appellate prosecutor in Mount Lebanon, is suffocating the banks, preventing their board chairpersons from traveling, and has submitted a letter to the General Security apparatus to that effect. If this apparatus delays or fails to comply, it has been placed on the watchlist for pursuit, just as happened with Major General Imad Osman, the director general of the Internal Security Forces.
In a practical step, the appellate public prosecutor in Mount Lebanon, Judge Ghada Aoun, informed General Security of the travel ban decision against the chairpersons of five banks for dissemination. The decision states: “To the General Directorate of General Security, based on our decision issued on 10/3/2022, it has been decided to prevent the travel of each of the following: Salim George Safir (born in 1944, Lebanese), Samir Nicolas Hanna (born in 1944, Lebanese), Ria Mohammad Ali Hafeer (born in 1967, Lebanese), Saad Naaman Azhar (born in 1961, Lebanese), Antoine Mikhail Sahnaoui (born in 1958, Lebanese).”
Aoun is investigating the file regarding the transfer of $8 billion by the Central Bank to seven banks to be paid to depositors outside Lebanon, before it became clear that the total amount that the banks actually paid did not exceed $1 billion, and that they retained the remaining $7 billion in their vaults.
Thus, the Association of Banks, which is facing a severe crisis with Judge Ghada Aoun, announced its commitment to the Central Bank's decision to disburse 60% as a cap on cash withdrawals, meaning that those concerned have to utilize other means for the remaining 40%. Worse still, after pharmacies, gas stations, and generators, supermarkets have taken a dangerous turn: obligating the citizen or consumer to pay half of their bill or dues in cash Lebanese lira, along with the credit card. This raises the repeated question of where to obtain the lira given the banking siege and the refusal to pay salaries or aid except up to a certain ceiling indicated by the ATM, rather than the bank employee.
In response, the Public Administration Employees Union announced its rejection of this decision and resorted to all means of opposition, warning of a possible escalation to force banks and the central bank to stop this farce, as stated by Nawal Nasr, head of the union. Similarly, Union Chief Hassan Faqih rejected the banks' measures, criticizing the absence of the state and accusing the central bank and banks of impoverishing the Lebanese people, revealing that the union is heading for escalation.
Meanwhile, the issue of the megacenter remains in the spotlight following the last trade-off in a cabinet session. Political sources noted that President Michel Aoun's battle for the establishment of the megacenter ended with a deal to appoint Major General Tony Saliba as director general of State Security, in his civilian capacity, after his retirement, which had previously been obstructed and rejected. The sources considered that this indicates the political decline in the authority's management and the frivolity in addressing the significant issues that concern citizens economically and socially, fearing that this decline could prompt unions to rally and take to the streets soon, as signs of such movements have appeared through statements and communications, expressing concern over negative repercussions and tremors in the streets that could affect the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Political sources pointed out that the loss of President Aoun and his political heir, MP Gebran Bassil, in the battle for establishing the megacenter in the cabinet a few days ago closed the door on what could be considered their last attempt to postpone parliamentary elections, which had been planned for a later presidential election postponement, paving the way for a presidential vacancy that the presidential team aims for, to keep Aoun in office under the pretext of filling the void and continuing to manage state affairs, despite the difficulties and even the impossibility of executing this scenario due to constitutional and political barriers and almost absolute public rejection.
Sources revealed that several diplomatic warnings at high levels have been communicated to senior officials, alerting them to the dangers of postponing elections under any pretext, as such a step that the presidential team is inclined to pursue for political motives, despite being difficult to achieve due to the lack of a majority in the cabinet or the parliament to approve it, raises fears of genuine intentions and prospects for delaying elections, worrying that new justifications might be fabricated in the interval leading up to the elections.
The political sources did not hide their communication with officials about an international inclination to impose sanctions on all officials seeking to delay the elections, prompting the collapse of all attempts to postpone, fearing the enforcement of these sanctions, and necessitating the Free Patriotic Movement to expedite its preparations for these elections, both in terms of candidacy and alliances.
On another note, sources revealed a sharp disagreement during the last session between Minister of Displaced Persons Issam Sharaf al-Din and Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar regarding the report prepared by the Minister of Displaced Persons, which included his vision and plan to initiate the return of Syrian refugees to their country. Well-informed political sources predicted through "Al-Liwaa" that the government would issue a bundle of appointments at the appropriate time after a series of vacancies in security positions, also noting that it is unknown whether these will be issued in batches. They suspect it would be carried out in phases according to what is deemed important and urgent.
They indicated that until election time, cabinet meetings remain open to appointment possibilities, noting that the need to include them in the agenda is confirmed at times while at other times the matter is overlooked by ministers. Regarding Minister of Displaced Persons Issam Sharaf al-Din's withdrawal from the last cabinet session, close associates explained that he possesses a radical solution project to protect depositors' money from sheer Lebanese losses, contradicting a project that Prime Minister Mikati intends to propose later regarding "loading the losses," which is supposed to charge the depositor 55% of his deposit, while the remaining amount would be converted to his account in Lebanese lira, repayable over ten years. They stated that he did not receive support from allied ministers, prompting his withdrawal.
They said: As soon as Minister Sharaf al-Din began presenting his report, Hajjar interrupted him three consecutive times, without the president, who chairs the session, intervening to stop the interruption and resume discussion of the report, which led the Minister of Displaced Persons to leave the session without the president's intervention to bring him back.
The sources considered that what happened clearly indicates that the Free Patriotic Movement is not willing to yield the issue of the return of Syrian refugees to any minister or political entity, even if it represents an ally of the movement, namely, Minister Sharaf al-Din, who is affiliated with MP Talal Arslan.
The day after tomorrow, Monday, President Nabih Berry will hold a press conference at the second presidential office in Ain al-Tineh, during which he will speak about the parliamentary elections and announce the names of the movement's candidates and the Development and Liberation bloc across all regions from the south to Beqaa and Beirut.
The number of candidates for the parliamentary elections who have submitted their candidacies to the Ministry of Interior has risen to 517 candidates, including 69 women, amidst confusion on the Sunni Islamic scene. Thus, Lebanon has entered the orbit of parliamentary elections after the forces seeking to postpone them submitted to their fate and realized that there was no escaping their holding without inventing reasons for delay or disruption, such as establishing the megacenter and its ramifications. Consequently, the official nominations surged, amounting to 517 officially registered candidates for the elections, after 98 individuals submitted their nominations yesterday, while each of Speaker Nabih Berry on Monday, October 14, and President of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil on Sunday, October 13, will announce their candidates.
Berry is scheduled to hold a press conference at 3 PM to discuss the election topic, and it is expected that Bassil will finalize candidate matters in some areas, especially in Metn, in light of MP Elias Bou Saab’s pending decision, which is expected to be announced next Saturday regarding his candidacy or withdrawal, as all Free Patriotic Movement candidates are to officially submit their nominations to the Interior Ministry on Monday, October 14, before the deadline on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the Central Agency reported that Bassil finalized the matter of the Jezzine district by nominating former MP Amal Abu Zeid and MPs Ziad Aswad and Selim Khoury, with further nominations expected as the movement completes its political alliances, especially with the Shiite duo and specifically Hezbollah.
Also notable in the elections is the official candidacy submission by former Secretary of the Ba'ath Party, Assem Kanso, who stated to "Al-Liwaa" that he has officially submitted his candidacy for the parliamentary elections from one of the Shiite seats in the Baalbek-Hermel district, as the president of the central executive committee of the party and its leadership in Damascus, which is thus a rank higher than the position of the party’s secretary in Lebanon.
He added: "We are awaiting instructions from the central leadership in Damascus, which will coordinate with Hezbollah to select the candidate deemed appropriate, with direct instructions from President Bashar al-Assad." He clarified that the decision will be made within 48 hours, either in Syria or at Hezbollah, and regardless of the decision, there won’t be an issue within the party.
It should be noted that Ba'ath Party Secretary Ali Hijazi also submitted his candidacy for the same district, as did current MP Qassem Hashem for the Sunni seat in the Nabatieh-Bent Jbeil-Hausbiah-Merjeyoun district. Ammar Ahmad also submitted for the Alawite seat in Akkar. Al-Hijazi announced that these three only represent the Ba'ath Party in the elections. There are rumors that the party might also nominate in Akkar member of the central committee, lawyer Ahmad Khodr Othman.
On the other side, MPs in the "Future" bloc, Rola Tabash and Dr. Mohammed al-Hajjar, announced their withdrawal from candidacy, adhering to the decision of the bloc's leader and Head of the Movement, Saad Hariri. Former MP and Minister Michel Franjieh also announced his withdrawal due to "the fragmentation witnessed in the first Beirut district among parties and candidates due to the electoral law on one side and disagreements on the other."
**Living Conditions**
The living situation remained overwhelming yesterday, with meat prices rising, the price of a 95-octane gasoline canister reaching 22,000 lira and 98-octane at 23,000 lira, while the price of diesel rose to 29,000 lira and gas to 9,000 lira.
George bras, a member of the stations owners' syndicate, stated that “the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the resulting crisis with the rise of oil prices in global markets continue to affect fuel prices in Lebanon, increasing the burden on the local economy and citizens.”
However, fuel distributors representative Fadi Abu Chakra reassured that “fuel shipments are beginning to arrive, which will ease the Lebanese market.” He stated, “We reassure that we will witness a decline in gasoline and diesel prices next week if price levels in the black market are maintained as they are now.” He emphasized the “need for additional oil imports by companies and the state,” pointing out that the rise registered today (yesterday) in prices was due to the rise in black market prices and the dollar.
Amid this environment, Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with a delegation from the General Labor Union led by its chairperson, Bishara Asmar, who stated: “We discussed the difficult economic situation that the majority of the Lebanese people are experiencing regarding the challenges of securing basic goods at this stage. We also discussed the banking reality, and the significant gap indicated by experts and bankers that is nearing 75 billion dollars, and the suggested directions to hold depositors accountable for it, which the General Labor Union categorically rejects.”
He added: “We heard reassurances from President Mikati about preserving the funds of small depositors, along with figures that can be said to be acceptable, yet we still seek further dialogue on ensuring the funds of small depositors—who make up approximately 93% of the total deposited funds—without shifting the burden of this bad situation onto depositors.”
In this context, Minister of Industry George Boujikian issued Decision No. 16/1 prohibiting “the export of food items manufactured in Lebanon listed in the table attached to this decision, which is an integral part of it, except after obtaining a license from the Ministry of Industry, signed solely by the Minister of Industry allowing exports, until further notice. This decision comes into effect immediately upon issuance and is to be communicated to those concerned.”
**Protests Against Power Outages**
In light of the stalled electricity program, a number of young protesters expressing their grievances about power outages blocked the Mirna Chalouhi highway toward the Salomi roundabout using burning tires, causing columns of smoke to rise and cover the area. Protesters left the area due to rain, and the situation returned to normal after marking their protest, which is likely to be repeated and extended to other areas.
**Health Update**
Health-wise, the Ministry of Health reported today 932 new coronavirus infections and 8 deaths in the last 24 hours, raising the cumulative total to 1,083,351 confirmed infections since February 21, 2020.
