Clock change: Lebanon wakes up in two time zones
Lebanon woke up in two time zones on Sunday amid an escalating dispute between political and religious authorities over a decision to delay the clock change by a month.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati decided on Thursday not to start daylight savings time over the last weekend of March – as usually happens in Lebanon, Europe and other regions – but instead to roll clocks forward an hour on April 20.
Though no reason was given for the decision, it was widely seen as a concession to Muslims, allowing those observing the holy month of Ramadan to break their daylight-hours fasts at around 6 p.m. rather than 7 p.m.
Mikati, a Sunni, announced the decision after a meeting with Shi’ite parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who repeatedly insisted on the change, according to a video of the meeting published by local broadcaster Al-Jadeed.
“Instead of it being 7 o’clock, let it stay 6 o’clock from now until the end of Ramadan,” Berri said in the clip.
Mikati’s office said on Saturday night the decision was a “purely administrative procedure” that was being given “an obnoxious sectarian turn”.
Caretaker justice minister Henry Khoury, a Christian, called on Mikati in a statement late on Saturday to reverse the move, in the first objection from within the cabinet.
Khoury said the decision “violated the principle of legitimacy” and had caused splits in Lebanese society and along religious lines at a time when Lebanon is already facing multiple crises.
Lebanon’s influential Maronite church, the largest Christian church in the country, announced it would not abide by the decision, saying there had been no consultations or considerations of international standards.
It turned its clocks forward, and other Christian organisations, parties and schools announced similar plans.
Conflicting time zones
Lebanon’s education minister, Abbas Halabi, also said on Sunday schools would operate on daylight savings time – against the government’s decision.
Businesses and media organizations, including two of Lebanon’s main news channels – LBCI and MTV – announced they too would enter daylight savings time. “Lebanon is not an island,” LBCI said in a statement.
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Meanwhile, Muslim institutions and parties appeared set to remain in the winter time, deepening divides in a country that was rocked by a 1975-90 civil war between Christian and Muslim factions and where parliament seats are allocated by a religious sect.
Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines said its clocks would stay in winter time but it would adjust its flight times to keep in line with international schedules.
The state-run telecoms duopoly sent messages to customers advising them to set the time on their devices manually, in case the clocks had automatically gone forward.
Zainab Sa’id
