Pointing fingers: Tele Liban faces uncertainty amid employees' strike

In an unprecedented turn of events, Lebanon's state-run television channel, Tele Liban, welcomed its viewers on Friday morning with a blank screen replacing the usual array of programs and news broadcasts. 

The channel's employees, frustrated by unfulfilled promises, have entered their second week of continuous strike action, leaving them unable to sustain regular operations. Negotiations with Ziad Makari, the caretaker Information Minister and the overseer of the television station, are ongoing. 

Amidst these negotiations, employees were caught off guard when Makari verbally informed the transmission department workers on Friday of the immediate suspension of Tele Liban's broadcasting. 

The decision to halt broadcasting has left employees pointing fingers at Makari, holding him responsible for the abrupt closure.

In response, Makari has placed blame on Mirna Chidiac, the president of the Tele Liban Employees' Union. He accuses her of persistently advocating for program suspensions and utilizing the public platform to disseminate information exclusively aligned with her agenda. 

Makari asserts that this approach places an undue financial burden on the state treasury, particularly regarding unaccounted expenses, such as fuel costs, associated with the broadcasts. 

However, he emphasizes that his decision was to freeze broadcasting temporarily, not to shut down the channel, contrary to circulating rumors permanently.

This is not the first instance where Lebanon's state television has grappled with financial turmoil. 

Strikes have shadowed the institution since its inception in the 1950s, culminating in its first closure in 2001 under the leadership of then-Information Minister Ghazi Aridi. The decision was jointly endorsed by President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri at the time. 

Nevertheless, a crucial distinction between the first and current closures can be drawn. The initial shutdown was defined by a specific timeframe and objectives, lasting three months to facilitate the station's restructuring. 

In contrast, the current closure's outcome remains uncertain while stemming from known reasons.