Lebanese protesters call Saturday rally over garbage disposal crisis

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 on to the streets in protests that have threatened the survival of the cabinet.

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

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

The “You Stink” campaign has mobilised independently of the big sectarian parties that dominate Lebanese politics. – (Reuters)