17 October Revolution
The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution (Arabic: ثورة 17 تشرين الأول, romanized: thawrat 17 tishrīn al-ʾawwal, lit. '17 October revolution') were a series of civil protests in Lebanon that began after the Lebanese cabinet announced financial measures on 17 October 2019. These national protests were triggered by planned taxes on gasoline, tobacco, and VoIP calls on applications such as WhatsApp, but quickly expanding into a country-wide condemnation of sectarian rule, the stagnation of the economy, unemployment (which reached 46% in 2018), endemic corruption in the public sector, legislation that was perceived to shield the ruling class from accountability (such as banking secrecy) and failures of the government to provide basic services such as electricity, water, and sanitation.
| 17 October Protests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Second Arab Spring | |||
Protesters outside of Riad Al Solh Square in Beirut on 19 October 2019 | |||
| Date | 17 October 2019 – Ambiguous | ||
| Location | Several Cities across Lebanon | ||
| Caused by | |||
| Methods | |||
| Resulted in |
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| Parties | |||
| Lead figures | |||
Non-centralized leadership Michel Aoun | |||
| Casualties and losses | |||
| |||
| 3 civilians killed in related violence 7 killed and 32 wounded in related clashes | |||
The protests created a political crisis in Lebanon, with Prime Minister Saad Hariri tendering his resignation, not demanding any new governmental needs of being the prime minister and echoing protesters' demands for a government of independent specialists. A cabinet headed by Hassan Diab was formed in 2020 but also resigned in the wake of the 2020 Beirut explosion.