Hezbollah MP: electricity crisis is a plot to topple cabinet

Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Moussawi said in remarks published on Thursday that the electricity crisis was a plot to bring the current government down.

“There are some who want the electricity crisis to turn into a second ‘tires revolution’ to bring down the current government, in a similar way to the first revolution which led to the resignation of the government of former Prime Minister Omar Karami,” Moussawi told Al-Jumhuriya newspaper.

“It seems that some are exploiting the crisis… in order to repeat this experience,” he added.

In 2005, large-scale street protests pushed Karami to resign shortly after former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

Moussawi also slammed the opposition for obstructing the Iranian offers to supply Lebanon with electricity.

“The Iranian offer that would provide Lebanon with electricity 24 hours a day for a whole year was put aside because of the American veto which threatens Lebanon with economic sanctions if [the offer was accepted].”

“Why didn’t you provide an alternative [offer] trough your allies,” Moussawi addressed the opposition as saying.

“We know that the other party, and the Americans behind them, have a problem with [Hezbollah’s] arms, but why [do they have a problem] with electricity?” he asked.

According to analysts there was never a serious Iranian offer . Iran started out by offering Lebanon 1500 MW of power generation and ended up by asking Lebanon to buy from Syria part of the 50 MW that it planned to supply it ( Syria) from the grid in Iraq.

According to analysts also Lebanon is witnessing the worst blackouts ever . In Mount Lebanon areas which are classified as tourist resorts there are days where power is on for 3 to 4 hours a day and where blackouts can last as long as 12 hours in one stretch. This has reportedly outraged the tourists who are threatening to leave if the situation does not improve.

Many Lebanese citizens took to the streets to express their outrage over the power cuts. Several main roads were temporarily blocked with burning tires in the past days. Beirut’s airport road was also affected by the protests.

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