Did not have time in Lebanon to start easing of quarantine measures, as there were renewed protests called “the revolution of the hungry”. The riots injured dozens of people. At the same time, the Lebanese elites continue to shift each other the responsibility for the collapse of the economy. On Wednesday, the head of the Central Bank of Lebanon Riad Salam was forced to make a televised address to the nation, to answer the attacks of the Prime Minister and to reassure citizens.”The banking system remains stable, despite the closure of banks, the crisis of coronavirus and default on Eurobonds”,— said on Wednesday the head of the Central Bank Riyad Salam, promising to prevent the bankruptcy of banks and use the deposits to cover losses. According to Mr. Salam, the stock of Central Bank liquidity is $20 billion, of which $8 billion is allocated to support the banking system. “I assure depositors that their deposits were not injured and are safe and sound. “Haircut” deposits are not needed, and talking about her scaring the investors and delay the recovery of the banking system,”— said the head of the Central Bank. Mr. Salam said that the Central Bank is not responsible for the actions of the government, which failed to implement the program of economic reforms. “Yes, the Central Bank financed the government, but the money spent is not we”,— said the head of Department.Riyadh Salam holds the post of head of the Central Bank since 1993. For his services include the stabilization of the Lebanese pound after the civil war between 1975 and 1990. At the same time he put the wine in a policy of endless borrowing and inflating the national debt of Lebanon, which led to to the country’s first default in March, when Beirut refused to pay the debt on Eurobonds. The country’s budget deficit equal to 11% of GDP, and public debt is 170% of GDP.The speech of the head of the Central Bank was a response to the request of the Prime Minister of Lebanon Hassan Diab “to explain people the cause of the unprecedented collapse of the national currency”. “Let Riyad Salam will come out and tell the Lebanese people the truth: what is the limit of the fall of the pound and what are the criteria of solving the problem,”— said the Prime Minister. He stressed that the losses of the Central Bank since the beginning of the year until mid-April reached $7 billion, of which $3 billion in the last four weeks. The Prime Minister said that instructed the “neutral international firm” to audit the activities of the Central Bank.At the same time, the words of Mr. Diab has been criticized by his predecessor Saad Hariri, who resigned in the Wake of the protests in October. The leader of the largest Sunni party Mustaqbal said that the policy of the current government “led the country into financial and economic hell,” and urged not to blame for the current crisis on the head of the Central Bank. Then came the turn to be indignant already the President of Lebanon ��isely the Aun. Now the Central Bank of Lebanon risks losing its business reputation, paying for relatively short and relatively stable period. However, it is difficult to believe that the Bank’s management did not know what and when will have to pay for this stability, the more it together with the government and commercial banks launched at the time, the mechanism of the financial pyramid at the state level”,— said in an interview with “Kommersant” a senior researcher at the Centre for Arab and Islamic studies, Institute of Oriental studies Svetlana Babenkova. She noted that the new Prime Minister, taking on the burden of power, also understood the condition of the country. “At the time of default had spoken about certain “plans and programmes” for the salvation of the country, a debt restructuring, but ultimately the whole program of anti-crisis actions was reduced to the search for the answer to the question of who is to blame,”— said the expert. In her opinion, the government and the Central Bank urgently needs to join efforts in finding solutions to overcome the crisis, otherwise, if they continue “to behave like a spouse during divorce”, then all existing international aid programs to Lebanon will be ineffective, and the economy will be completely paralyzed.The reason for disputes and attempts to lay the blame on each other has been a sharp depreciation of the national currency. Last week the cost of one US dollar increased by almost two times — up to 3625 Lebanese pounds. Until recently, for many years, the rate was virtually unchanged — about 1.5 thousand pounds to the dollar, but in the beginning of the year exceeded 2 thousand we will Remind that anti-government demonstrations erupted in the country on October 17 of last year in protest against the economic measures of the government, that two weeks led to the resignation of Saad Hariri. A new Cabinet led by Hassan Diab was sworn in on January 21. However, the demonstrators refused to stop the protests, demanding a complete change of political elites. Pause only appeared after the introduction in mid-March of quarantine measures, and for a short while. Sharply increased unemployment, virtually destroyed the middle class. According to world Bank forecasts, the decline in GDP this year can reach 11% compared to 5.6% in the past. Given the situation, the government adopted a decision to ease quarantine measures, despite the increase of cases of coronavirus, the number of which 721 of these, more than 20 deaths.On Monday, the country opened food markets, bakeries, and repair shops have earned the agricultural farms and food industry enterprises, some local government offices. May 4 is scheduled to open all the factories, and partially cafes and restaurants. In addition, this week is expected to adopt a plan of government for youthe course of the financial crisis. It is reported that the already approved measures to combat corruption. But many believe that these measures are too late.Quarantine in Lebanon gave rise to a “revolution of the hungry”. Despite curfews and bans on mass gatherings, the Lebanese tried to protest, leaving the streets with posters “We are dying of hunger.” Many have not received the promised government financial assistance. Not surprisingly, as soon as the government eased quarantine measures, hundreds of people took to the new protests, which have become the center of Beirut, Tripoli in the North and Saida in the South.During the recent riots one person was killed and dozens injured, including police and military. On Tuesday, the army pushed the protesters from the streets of Beirut, in Tripoli were deployed armored vehicles. “No wonder people take to the streets to be heard. But the strange thing is, the party or parties who are trying to discredit and climb on the wave of popular movements, thus destroying the country. What is happening is not harmless. There is a systematic and purposeful destruction of the state institutions”,— said on Wednesday the Prime Minister Diab, hinting that most of the activists of the protest movement — the supporters of his predecessor Saad Hariri. At the same time, many Lebanese say that their protest is not dependent on political affiliation, they’re just desperate. But there are those who are outraged by the riots and believes that the protests only worsen the economic situation in the country.”Economic, political, and moral problem in Lebanon related to the fact that none of the political forces there is no agreed vision of the way out of the crisis. They have neither the programs nor the will to make decisions”,— said “Kommersant” the Lebanese political analyst Sarkis Abu Zeid. “The question of who will pay for the bankruptcy of the state, who will cover losses? Due to the global economic crisis, it is difficult to expect assistance from the international players who had helped Lebanon. All leads will have to pay ordinary Lebanese. But people have already reached the utmost degree of poverty. The only option is to demand the return of money from those who stole them or brought from the country”,— he stressed. According to Mr. Abu Zeid, to save Lebanon can only reform that should be dealt with force, “not tainted” in the past, and it is demanded by the protesters. “We need to have the strength to get to meet the perpetrators of corruption and to go further, to reform, relying not on old political system built on ethnic and religious ties and national interests,”— said the expert.Marianna Belenkaya
