Lebanon firms in shutdown on protests

BEIRUT – A two-day shutdown closed Lebanese banks and many businesses Friday as protests against the assassination of pro-Syrian industry minister Pierre Gemayel rolled on.

The bosses’ organisations which ordered the shutdown said they were determined to put an end to the political crisis between pro- and anti-Syrian forces which they said was damaging their businesses. But the new closure, hot on the heels of the official mourning declared after the minister’s murder on Tuesday, marked a fresh blow for an economy still reeling from Israel’s devastating summer offensive and drew criticism from some businessmen.The shutdown affected virtually the entire private sector, from manufacturing and insurance to shipping and tourism, but many small retailers kept their doors open and government offices, state-run utilities and Beirut’s port were unaffected.Staff turned up at a few firms as normal, oblivious to the hastily organised shutdown.Some parents with children at private schools took their children to class only to be turned away at the school gate.”This shutdown is aimed at making our voices heard by those who have targeted Lebanon and to challenge criminality and division,” business chiefs said in a statement.The bosses said they wanted the restoration of the broad coalition, including ministers from Shiite militant group Hezbollah, that was installed after last summer’s election and an end to the protests and counterprotests that have rocked the country.They also called for a return to cross-party talks between all the country’s political factions and a resumption of parliamentary sessions to approve pressing legislation, notably the UN blueprint for an international tribunal to try the 2005 murder of anti-Syrian former premier Rafiq Hariri.They said they would meet again on Sunday morning to consider what further action to take to press their demands.But managers in the many Lebanese firms engaged in foreign trade criticised the new shutdown and the speed with which it had been organised.”We can’t continue shutting our businesses for five days,” said Nabih Shabaan, who runs an import-export business.”It’s like a weekend again today.If we continue like this, we will go bust.”Fred Seikali, managing director of Fidelity Insurance, said only three of his 23 staff had turned up for work.”We support the bosses’ organisations but we have commitments to our clients and it could have been better organized,” he told AFP.”We can’t stop communicating with the world, we need to be at work.”The Lebanese economy was already facing negative growth for 2006 and a further increase in its huge national debt following the estimated US$5,5 billion blow of the July-August war between Israel and Hezbollah.”After zero growth in 2005, the projections are now for negative growth of two to eight per cent for 2006, against forecasts for both years of five to six per cent growth,” Kamal Hamdane told AFP before the latest crisis sparked by Gemayel’s killing.The national debt was projected to reach US$41 billion by year-end or 185 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, he added.Nampa-AFPBut the new closure, hot on the heels of the official mourning declared after the minister’s murder on Tuesday, marked a fresh blow for an economy still reeling from Israel’s devastating summer offensive and drew criticism from some businessmen.The shutdown affected virtually the entire private sector, from manufacturing and insurance to shipping and tourism, but many small retailers kept their doors open and government offices, state-run utilities and Beirut’s port were unaffected.Staff turned up at a few firms as normal, oblivious to the hastily organised shutdown.Some parents with children at private schools took their children to class only to be turned away at the school gate.”This shutdown is aimed at making our voices heard by those who have targeted Lebanon and to challenge criminality and division,” business chiefs said in a statement.The bosses said they wanted the restoration of the broad coalition, including ministers from Shiite militant group Hezbollah, that was installed after last summer’s election and an end to the protests and counterprotests that have rocked the country.They also called for a return to cross-party talks between all the country’s political factions and a resumption of parliamentary sessions to approve pressing legislation, notably the UN blueprint for an international tribunal to try the 2005 murder of anti-Syrian former premier Rafiq Hariri.They said they would meet again on Sunday morning to consider what further action to take to press their demands.But managers in the many Lebanese firms engaged in foreign trade criticised the new shutdown and the speed with which it had been organised.”We can’t continue shutting our businesses for five days,” said Nabih Shabaan, who runs an import-export business.”It’s like a weekend again today.If we continue like this, we will go bust.”Fred Seikali, managing director of Fidelity Insurance, said only three of his 23 staff had turned up for work.”We support the bosses’ organisations but we have commitments to our clients and it could have been better organized,” he told AFP.”We can’t stop communicating with the world, we need to be at work.”The Lebanese economy was already facing negative growth for 2006 and a further increase in its huge national debt following the estimated US$5,5 billion blow of the July-August war between Israel and Hezbollah.”After zero growth in 2005, the projections are now for negative growth of two to eight per cent for 2006, against forecasts for both years of five to six per cent growth,” Kamal Hamdane told AFP before the latest crisis sparked by Gemayel’s killing.The national debt was projected to reach US$41 billion by year-end or 185 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, he added.Nampa-AFP