(Beirut) A Lebanese MP from the protest was able to recover part of her savings blocked in the bank after a sit in on Wednesday, while a retired policeman carried out a similar action to obtain his end-of-service indemnities, according to AFP correspondents.
Posted at 10:05 a.m.
MP Cynthia Zarazir’s initiative came as bank robberies are on the rise by desperate citizens trying to withdraw their savings that have been blocked for three years in this country ravaged by an unprecedented economic crisis.
Several activists gathered outside the bank’s headquarters in the northern suburbs of Beirut to support the MP, who was accompanied by two lawyers who are members of a savings support group.
According to the national news agency ANI, Mme Zarazir left the bank in the afternoon after receiving $8,500.
Fouad Debs, a lawyer accompanying the parliamentarian, explained to AFP that she needed this sum to pay for a surgical operation which is not covered by her health insurance.
For three years, banks have imposed draconian restrictions, preventing customers from withdrawing their savings, especially in dollars, or making transfers abroad.
A few hours later, a retired police officer burst into a bank in the suburbs of Beirut, demanding his end-of-service indemnities which amount to nearly 220 million pounds – around 150,000 euros before the crisis, but which do not represent more than 5500 euros due to the collapse of the Lebanese pound.
“They give me £5m a month, what can I do with it? Is it enough to pay my electricity bills? said Hussein Chokr, referring to the high cost of private generators that make up for the lack of public electricity.
On Tuesday, a retired diplomat and honorary consul of Ireland, Georges Siam, observed a sit in in a bank in the suburbs of Beirut to recover his savings before reaching a compromise with the establishment in the evening.
“We want our money”
At the same time, several armed clients had robbed banks on Tuesday, including a retired policeman who demanded to transfer money to his son studying in Ukraine and deprived of funds.
The man was arrested without success.
Banks had closed for a week after a series of spectacular robberies on September 16, before reopening with heightened security measures to try to prevent a repeat of such incidents.
In response to the new wave of robberies, the Association of Banks of Lebanon (ABL) defended itself on Tuesday by accusing in a press release the State and the Central Bank of having contributed to the “drying up” of savers’ savings.
“The most dangerous thing the public sector has done is to have […] got their hands on savings” from the private sector, the statement said.
In Beirut, several dozen savers gathered on Wednesday morning in front of the Central Bank against “unjust” restrictions, according to an AFP journalist.
PHOTO BILAL HUSSEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In Beirut, several dozen savers gathered in front of the Central Bank on Wednesday morning against “unjust” restrictions.
Protesters threw empty bottles at the building and set tires on fire, amid a heavy deployment of the army.
“We came to claim our rights, we have been waiting for three years and we still have no solution,” protested Houssam Machmouchi, 42. “We are not beggars, we just want our money,” he added.