Lebanese depositors stage riot before Central Bank
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Lebanese protestors take to the streets again in Beirut amid the ongoing national financial crisis to demand their deposits.
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A protester launches fireworks at the Lebanese Central Bank building as frustrated depositors rally against Governor Riad Salameh and the deepening financial crisis in Beirut, Lebanon, March 24, 2023 (AP)
Lebanese depositors staged a riot outside the country's Central Bank in Beirut on Friday in light of the financial crisis it is embroiled in, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
Lebanese depositors have for years had their deposits locked in the bank's vaults as the banking sector refuses to give the people but crumbs of the money they had saved up out of fears of a banking collapse.
The report said a Lebanese depositors' association has staged a demonstration against the country's central bank circulars, and protestors are burning tires and throwing firecrackers at the building, all the while accusing the bank of committing crimes against the Lebanese people, the report said.
Moreover, the protestors are alleging to be the "Party of Depositors", as they are holding posters with the name, demanding that the Central Bank stop "haircutting" their deposits.
Local broadcaster Al Jadeed reported that the military and security forces were heavily deployed near Beirut's Hamra neighborhood, where many of the banks are located in a street known as "Share' Al-Masaref", i.e., "Banks Street".
The unrest comes after the Lebanese Parliament failed for 11 times in a row to elect a president for the country after former Lebanese President Michel Aoun stepped down at the end of October 2022 after finishing his six-year term despite the Parliament not having elected another head of state.
The President's duties were entrusted to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Read next: Political solution in Lebanon begins with electing president: Speaker
Lebanese commercial banks have since the start of the financial crisis imposed illegal withdrawal and transfer restrictions without any capital control law regulating such measures,
Lebanese banks are often subject to attacks from depositors who are demanding their money back after it has been holed up in banks for years.
Withdrawal limits have sparked public outrage that has seen some Lebanese resort to armed hold-ups in a bid to lay hands on their own money.
Lebanon has been for more than three years mired in a deep financial and economic crisis accompanied by political and social tensions.
The Lebanese banking system has been nearly paralyzed for years, with the national currency collapsing daily and losing value to the US dollar. The developments have plunged more than 70% of the population into poverty.
Earlier in March, the Lebanese pound sank to a historic low against the dollar on the parallel market, the latest milestone in an economic meltdown.
Officially pegged at 15,000 to the dollar, the pound was trading at 100,000 against the dollar -- a plunge from 1,507 before the economic crisis hit in 2019.
The currency's market value was at around 60,000 to the dollar in January.
The currency plunge has triggered price hikes on fuel, food, and other basic goods, with supermarkets starting to price items in dollars this month.
Despite the gravity of the crisis, the country has had no president and only a caretaker government, amid persistent deadlock between rival factions since last year.
Read more: Lebanese crisis exacerbating as Lebanese pound plummets
Lebanese banks were closed as the Lebanese pound was sinking against the greenback, as they resumed an open-ended strike.
The strike began in early February to protest what the Association of Banks in Lebanon described as "arbitrary" judicial measures against lenders after depositors filed lawsuits to retrieve savings.
Some judges sought to seize the funds of bank directors or board members or to force lenders to pay out customers' dollar deposits in pounds at the old 1,507 exchange rate.
Moreover, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh is being investigated in Lebanon and abroad for the suspected embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars.
