Lebanon: government websites hacked (VIDEO)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The websites of 16 Lebanese government ministries were hacked Tuesday by a group calling itself "Raise Your Voice," according to The Daily Star. The hackers posted a caricature and text decrying government corruption and incompetence.

The text read: “We are RYV, short for Raise Your Voice, and we are simply a group of people who could not bear sitting in silence, watching all the crimes and injustice going on in Lebanon. We will not be silenced and brainwashed by your media. We will not stop until the Lebanese people mobilize, demand their rights, and earn them."

Raise Your Voice also posted a photo of a fat, crying man wearing a business suit being fed by an emaciated man wearing a loincloth, meant to symbolize the relationship between the Lebanese government and the people.

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Reuters wrote that robust growth in Lebanon's economy "has failed to translate into improvements in basic public services and infrastructure. Many people blame corruption and political wrangling for poor services and high prices."

Lebanon suffers from chronic electricity and water shortages, aging infrastructure, and political corruption. Government ministries are accused by critics of brazenly awarding tenders for state projects to family members and business contacts. 

After hacking the government sites, Raise Your Voice posted a video to YouTube saying they joined Anonymous, the worldwide hacking community, “to liberate the minds of our people at most and create hope," the Star wrote.

"So it’s fair to say we are angry; the attitude of the Lebanese government and financial elite strictly opposes the values and principals we uphold. The government must exist to serve the will of the people not the will of the financial elite," he said.

A blog on the NOW Lebanon news website quipped, "Now, my immediate reaction was surprise that any of the above government agencies even had websites. I thought they still operated by typewriter."

Below is the video posted by Raise Your Voice.