Democratic Palestine : 27 (ص 40)
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- Democratic Palestine : 27 (ص 40)
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ly related to the structural nature of the
economic crisis.
THE POLITICAL
CONNECTION
In July, the Lebanese Communist
Party issued a statement entitled «The
Crisis of the Pound is the Result of the
Political Crisis of the Sectarian
Regime, the Free Enterprise System and
Subordination to Imperialism.» The
statement refers back to the events of
January 1986, when Samir Geagea and
Amin Gemayel staged a coup in the
fascist ranks, whereby Geagea replaced
Elie Hobeika as commander of the
Lebanese Forces. This followed
Hobeika’s signing of the tripartite
agreement with Walid Jumblatt and
Nabih Berri, calling for abolishing
political sectarianism, upholding
Lebanon’s unity and liberating all its
territory from Israeli occupation, and
maintaining special relations with
Syria. Overnight, the coup scuttled the
most serious attempt at national
reconciliation. The pound, which had
traded at 19 to the dollar, plunged
along with the hopes for stability, fall-
ing to 122 to the dollar in less than a
year and a half.
The assassination of Prime Minister
Rashid Karami on June Ist this year was
the next major blow to hopes for a
political solution. In the six ensuing
weeks, the value of the US dollar rose
55% as against the Lebanese pound,
hitting 200 to $1, in contrast to an in-
crease of less than 40% in the first five
months of the year. It is widely believed
that fascist forces in the army had a
hand in the assassination.
Amin Gemayel’s regime and the
fascist forces stand doubly responsible
for the people’s impoverishment. Their
political intransigence, aimed at pro-
tecting the privileges of the Maronite
bourgeoisie in particular, has blocked
the functioning of the national unity
government. The Lebanese Forces’
proposal for a new cabinet to solve the
economic crisis is really a call for
replacing the nationalist ministers who
are boycotting Amin Gemayel.
Escalating the political crisis to the
point of chaos would help the fascists
pursue their partitionist plans.
In the shadow of the political
deadlock and the regime’s protection of
40
November 9th: West Beirut demonstrators carry
coffin symbolizing the rulers.
the free enterprise system, the big
bourgeoisie has capitalized on the
pound’s devaluation. General loss of
confidence in the pound, and
depositors’ reversion to the dollar and
other foreign currency, has further ag-
gravated the situation: The Central
Bank’s possibility for intervening in the
money market is significantly narrow-
ed; only 15% of deposits in Lebanon’s
banks are now in pounds; and prices
are often posted in dollars - all factors
which fuel more speculation and infla-
tion.
It seems unlikely that any sector of
the Lebanese establishment, whatever
their political or confessional affilia-
tion, can or will find viable solutions to
the crisis. The proposals of some
politically moderate bourgeois sectors
for selling part of Lebanon’s gold
reserves, would only be a step towards
total breakdown, in the view of the
Lebanese Communist Party.
The only hope seems to come from
the possibility of a popular awakening
that could cut through the barriers to
class solidarity, that have been erected
by the sectarian system. In fact, people
on both sides of the political divide are
suffering. Social action could add a
new dimension to the struggle in
Lebanon, if organized on the basis of
democratic principles and clear
awareness of the roots of the crisis.
MASS FIGHTBACK
Popular action to redress economic
grievances has, in fact, reached an un-
precedented level in the recent period.
Following the mass uprising in late
August, the trade unions have taken
initiative to a series of actions pro-
testing the regime’s policy of starva-
tion, and threatening to begin an open-
ended strike in November if no
measures for improvement are for-
thcoming. Some have called for this
strike to last until bringing down
Gemayel’s regime. On September 4th
and 22nd, there were strikes. Labor
conferences were held, focusing on
basic social demands that have been on
the agenda since the early seventies - the
right to free medical care, housing and
education, as well as frequent wage
increases, indexed to match inflation.
On October 15th, there were
demonstrations in all major towns
throughout the country, protesting the
lifting of subsidies on bread (which
pushed its price up 43%).
Demonstrators stressed the failure of
all hegemonic and sectarian projects,
and the state’s failure to resolve the
socioeconomic crisis. Slogans were
raised for overcoming sectarian bar-
riers and unifying ranks to stop the
economic collapse. There were
demands for cancelling the bank
secrecy laws and limiting the price of
foreign currency, in order to protect the
pound.
In Beirut, the demonstration begin-
ning in the eastern sector joined the
demonstration originating in the
western sector at the so-called green
line, site of Mansour Palace, the
parliament building. Antoine Beshara
of the General Labor Confederation,
who led the demonstrators from East
Beirut, made a speech condemning the
mafia, state policy and the latter’s
empty promises. He pledged that this
demonstration was a final warning of
the impending open strike. The other
main speaker was Elias Haber of the
National Union Federation, who led
the demonstrators from the West,
stressed that working class unity could
form the basis for the struggle for con-
secrating Lebanon’s unity and attaining
social justice. He pledged that the trade
unions would not retreat in their strug-
gle.
On October 20th, public and private
schools closed throughout Lebanon, as
50,000 teachers went on strike until the
fulfillment of their demands for better
wages, health benefits and job security.
The strike continued into its second
week, punctuated by demonstrations
and sit-ins, after the parliament gave - هو جزء من
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