People's Movement (Lebanon)

Najah Wakim is an Orthodox lawyer who was elected a member of parliament in 1972 at the age of twenty-six.[2] He was a vocal critic of Rafik Hariri and strongly identified with the policies of Gamal Nasser. Wakim himself strongly believes in secularism, and his party evolved to bolster a non-sectarian style of government, contrary to the current government in Lebanon. A group of pan-Arab leftists including Wakim established the People's Movement as a result of the growing dissatisfaction with the current Lebanese government and foreign affairs.

The People's Movement is notably tied to a political campaign called the "We Want Accountability" campaign. This campaign evolved out of the You Stink campaign in Lebanon, formed to fight the growing corruption in the government and the buildup of trash. The We Want Accountability campaign has recently carried out three protests. The first was in May 2016 outside the Central Inspection Department in Beirut. They protested corruption in the government and embezzlement of public governmental funds.[3] The second rally was held in June 2016, protesting the privatization of Lebanon's last public beach in front of Beirut Municipality. The demonstration succeeded and the beach remains public to this day.[4] The third and most recent protest occurred in September 2016. Protesters blocked the Grand Serail, rallying against political corruption.[5]

The People's Movement fights for peaceful, national unity in Lebanon. They idealize a government without religious boundaries, and free of corruption. The Movement considers things like embezzlement and bribery to be a big problem and would like to take measures against such forms of corruption. It attacks privatization and sectarianism. They rely on the middle and working classes banding together to abolish the "old" political class, and place a lot of importance on political reform and highlight how other reforms will follow. A popular mantra written on fliers of the movement reads,"للفساد، للطائفية، للجهل", literally meaning, "no to corruption, no to sectarianism, no to ignorance".[6] Their movement reflects that of other People's Movements around the world.

The People's Movement garners much of its support from the younger generation, thus the policies they would like to implement reflect that. They include placing pressure on the government to help relieve unemployment in the younger generation, granting access to soft loans to entrepreneurs with government supervision, stopping the immigration of intelligent people (the brain drain), and creating a planning ministry.[7]

The People's Movement is vehemently against relations with Israel and sympathizes with Palestine. It is against the call for peace with Zionists and fears Israel has its own agenda. The Movement focuses on peaceful relations with the Arabs and defense of the Palestinian cause, and they believe Israel solely wants to abolish Palestine. They refuse peace with Israel if Palestine is not granted its full respect as an independent country. They are also opposed to international interference in Lebanese politics, especially American interference.[8]