Lebanon protests: Country unites against government corruption

What began as a spontaneous protest about WhatsApp calls has turned into a nation-wide rallying cry for change.

Hundreds of thousands of people have flooded the streets of Beirut and cities across Lebanon voicing their anger at government corruption, inefficiency and a lack of basic services.

When the country's telecommunications minister announced last Thursday proposals to tax internet-enabled voice calls he could not have imagined the reaction would be demonstrations calling for the entire government to be replaced.

But what has unravelled in Lebanon over the last week is much more than protests at specific policies. It is pent up frustration and anger at a political class that has enriched itself over decades leaving the vast majority in the country facing daily power cuts, water shortages and a lack of adequate healthcare.

Add to that a deepening economic crisis which has squeezed wages and left many young people without jobs and the outcome was inevitable.

What has been remarkable is the nature of the protests. They have shunned political affiliations and transcended religious divides.

One of the key slogans of these protests has been: "All of them means all of them." No one is blameless; all are guilty of pushing the country to the brink. The chants you hear on the streets range from rhymes cursing specific government ministers to a simple call for "revolution".

In downtown Beirut it doesn't take long to get a sense of young people's frustrations.

"The government is not being fair with the people...they're taking money from the people and putting it in their pockets," one university graduate told Sky News.

Moments later a woman rushed over to explain why she was protesting: "I'm here because of inequality. Inequality in education, inequality in everything. We're here, we're young and we want to study and work in our country... we want to let our children learn in this country without leaving it."

So, what happens next? Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's reform package, which he announced on Monday afternoon, was supposed to appease the protesters' concerns. He pledged to cut the salaries of current and former political officials, abolish state institutions - including the Information Ministry - and impose no new taxes in the 2020 budget.

Judging from the thousands on the streets, here in Beirut all the way to his stronghold in the northern city of Tripoli, it hasn't made much of a difference.

Yet even those in Lebanon who follow political developments closely admit they are unsure about how the coming days will play-out.

Joseph Habboush, a reporter at the English-language Lebanon Daily Star newspaper told Sky News: "One of the strengths of these protests is that there's been no leader. Everybody has come together from all sects, all religions, all backgrounds.

"I'm not sure many know what will come next. Let's say the government packs up and goes home, who takes over?"

Lebanon's demonstrators might not have yet achieved their objective of removing the political establishment from power - but they may have changed the way politics is run in this country for generations to come.