29 April 2011

BEIRUT: Taxi and bus drivers stepped up pressure on the authorities Thursday to cut the prices of gasoline and other oil derivatives that are eroding the incomes of many Lebanese families.

For the second day running, long queues of taxi and bus cabs honked their horns in the streets to express their indignation at the governments failure to come up with a new energy policy that would alleviate the financial pressures on limited income people.

Many drivers stopped working and protested in Beirut as well as the towns of Mansourieh, Chtoura, and in the south of the country, the National News Agency reported.

The price of gasoline increased by LL500 Wednesday, according to the weekly price updates released by caretaker Energy and Water Minister Jibran Bassil. Last week the price of gasoline rose by LL900, the highest weekly price hike so far this year.

Ghassan Ghosn, president of the General Labor Confederation, said these protests were merely preparations for the general strike, which was scheduled to take place on May 19.

People are angry and this protest is an expression of that, Ghosn told The Daily Star, adding that the new Cabinet should focus on peoples needs and demands rather than fight over the distribution of ministerial portfolios.

On Jan. 25 Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was appointed to form a new government to replace caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariris toppled Cabinet. The delay is attributed to a dispute over the appointment of the next interior minister.

President Michel Sleiman wants to retain caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud while MP Michel Aoun of the March 8 coalition insists the post should be part of his share in the new Cabinet.

Marwan Fayyad, head of the Public Transportation Drivers Union, criticized the ongoing protests and claimed they are politically motivated.

We wont allow anyone to take advantage of drivers for the sake of personal or political motives, Fayyad told The Daily Star, adding that the March 8 alliance was using these protests to put pressure on Sleiman and Baroud.

Fayyad also slammed the labor confederation, saying: We are not part of the general confederation because it represents a certain political group [March 8 alliance].

Some taxi drivers said they were not participating in the ongoing protests nor did they have the intention of taking part in the May 19 strike.

I dont trust unions, one taxi driver said, adding that the protests were just a masquerade.

Fayyad said the union had previously negotiated with Sleiman to offer drivers LL50,000 for transportation costs. The president, according to Fayyad, had promised to resume negotiations on the matter once the new Cabinet was formed. We reject [this] way of dealing with the government, he added, criticizing protesters who blocked roads in the villages of Sofar and Alay with burning tires Wednesday.

In response to Fayyads allegations that some of the protesters were not genuine drivers, Ghosn defended the protesters, repeating: This is merely an expression of peoples anger [toward the current situation].

Copyright The Daily Star 2011.