The retired military personnel reaffirmed on Wednesday its previous decision “to gather and protest outside the grand serail to block ministers from participating in a cabinet meeting scheduled on Thursday.” The protesters vowed to maintain their protests “until achieving justice and equality.”
They called on “retired military personnel, civilians, their families, the families of (army) martyrs, and those of active military personnel to participate and mobilize in the protest against the Cabinet and in future activities.”
In a statement, they emphasized their demand to the government, including “no delay in addressing the issue of salary raise, to include it as the first item on the Cabinet session agenda and ensure it is decreed according to the draft issued by the legal platform defending the rights of retired military personnel.”
The draft calls for securing a minimum decent standard of living for all categories and ranks, through fair retirement compensation, salary and wage correction, and a plan with retroactive effect to correct the value of retirement benefits according to a fair exchange rate to the US dollar.
On Tuesday morning, retired military personnel blocked the main roads in front of the Ministry of Finance, the port of Beirut and Bechara el-Khoury. These simultaneous protests came in reaction to the 2024 Budget vote, which failed to answer the calls of these former civil servants, outraged at the lack of consideration shown by the state that they served.
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