EDL rejects Minyeh protesters' demands for 24-hour power

TRIPOLI: Electricite du Liban (EDL) said on Saturday that protesters in the northern town of Minyeh were fighting for an unjust cause by asking for 24 hours of electricity after the company decided to ration supply to 20 hours. EDL released a statement, saying protesters wanted to end rationing completely while the electricity company was only trying to implement the rationing program imposed on all Lebanese regions. “The protesters’ demands are contradictory to the constitutional principle of equality among citizens,” the statement read. 

Protesters in northern Lebanon blocked a major highway with dirt barriers and burning tires on Saturday as they upped the stakes in their campaign for an end to electricity rationing. 

Hundreds of residents of Minyeh, 35 kilometers from the Syrian border, blocked a major highway between the two countries in protest against a government decision issued earlier this month. 

The decision cut their electricity supply by four hours a day, stripping them of their former 24-hour supply, a rare privilege in power-starved Lebanon. 

“The decision implements the policy of the Energy and Water Ministry, which calls for distributing electricity supply equally between all Lebanese regions,” EDL reiterated, adding that Minyeh has been benefiting from a 24 hour-supply since September 2008. 

Soldiers attempted to clear the road on Saturday but were confronted by protesters who hurled stones at them, an AFP correspondent said. 

The army fired warning shots and beat the crowds back with batons, lightly wounding two protesters, the correspondent said. 

But security forces played down the violence. 

“We are still trying to open the road, but the situation is calm and so far there have been no major clashes,” a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity. 

The residents were also demanding that the government find a solution to smoke from a nearby power plant, which locals say is polluting their town and killing their crops. 

“We agreed with government officials on a rationing program, but at the same time we asked that they treat the pollution problem, which they have not done,” said Ahmed Eid, the mayor of Deir Ammar where the plant is located. 

“The protesters are not doing anything illegal, and the more extreme acts in the streets today are unanticipated, impulsive reactions,” he told AFP. 

Officials from the region later held a meeting during which they confirmed their commitment to the agreement they had reached with the government concerning electricity rationing. However, they said they would continue fighting for “the right of all Lebanese to 24 hours electricity supply.” 

The officials also called on all protesters to keep calm and stay united, and said efforts to unblock the roads were ongoing. They added that a meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri was scheduled for next week to further discuss the problem. 

Electricity is a constant concern for the Beirut government, which allocates the third largest slice of its budget, after debt servicing and salaries, to power supply. The country suffers daily power cuts, including in the capital where generators are used during blackouts. – The Daily Star, with AFP