Lebanon's Aoun: Dialogue with protesters crucial to solve issues at hand
November 4, 2019, 11:22 am

Lebanon's Aoun: Dialogue with protesters crucial to solve issues at hand

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Monday that there is a need for dialogue with demonstrators. (File photo Reuters)

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Monday that there is a need for dialogue with demonstrators in order to come to an understanding on the issues at hand.

On its official Twitter page, The Lebanese Presidency cited Aoun as saying to the UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon that one of the first tasks of the new government will be to follow up the anti-corruption, and carry out an investigation process that will include all officials in departments at different levels.

Demonstrators continue to block roads across Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut, as anti-government protests enter their third week. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that while some roads such as the Nahr al-Kalb highway had been reopened, others remain closed by protesters on Monday morning.

A rally of support for President Aoun took place on Sunday, in a seeming counter-move against the nationwide protests, which have called for the resignation of the entire government. Aoun's son-in-law Gebran Bassil, who is also leader of his political party the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and foreign minister, attended the rally and called on demonstrators to refrain from accusing everyone of corruption.

Aoun previously gave a speech on Thursday calling for a new cabinet. Protesters seem to have largely ignored his calls as banks and schools were again closed on Monday.

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
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