Demonstrators, responding to a call by Lebanon's Labor Union, gathered Wednesday outside the Energy Ministry in the capital in protest against the government-approved economic reform plan aimed at lifting the country out of its US$41-billion public debt.
According to Naharnet, a similar protest called by the General Federation of Labor Union (GFLU) was held Tuesday near the value added tax (VAT) department of the finance ministry. The GFLU sit-in was supported by the Hizbullah-led opposition.
The plan, which was approved earlier this month by Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government, would be submitted to the Paris III donors' conference on January 25. Among others, it includes raising value-added tax, increasing fuel prices and privatizing the mobile telecom sector.
