As Aoun spoke, hundreds of people gathered in downtown Beirut listening to his speech shouted: "Come on, leave, your term has left us hungry" They later dismissed his speech, saying it offered nothing new BEIRUT: Lebanon"s president pleaded Thursday with tens of thousands of protesters who have blocked main roads and paralyzed the nation for days, urging them to back economic reforms proposed by the prime minister as the "first step" toward saving the country from economic collapse. The protesters, however, have already rejected the initiative and it didn"t appear that President Michel Aoun would sway them. In his televised address, Aoun pledged to exert every effort to implement radical reform, but also said that change can only come from within state institutions. He said freedom of transportation must be respected, urging demonstrators to remove roadblocks. Lebanon has been engulfed by protests since last Thursday, a paralysis that has compounded the country"s severe economic crisis and is threatening to plunge it into another cycle of chaos and instability. The leaderless protests were triggered by new proposed taxes, and have escalated into a nationwide revolt against the country"s sectarian-based leaders whom the demonstrators accuse of corruption and mismanagement. Aoun"s comments are his first since the protests started. On Monday, Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a package of economic reforms the government hopes will help revive the struggling economy, but the protesters denounced it as empty promises designed to quell their movement. They have insisted on staying in the street until the government resigns. Some have called on the president to step down as well. For Lebanon, these protests have also been the first of their kind, shattering taboos and openly taking aim at powerful sectarian leaders from their own communities. As Aoun spoke, hundreds of people gathered in downtown Beirut listening to his speech through a giant speaker, shouted: "Come on, leave, your term has left us hungry." They later dismissed his speech, saying it offered nothing new. "The (economic) reform paper that was adopted is the first step to save Lebanon and to distance the scepter of financial and economic collapse," Aoun said. The president promised the protesters" "call will not go unanswered," adding he"s ready for constructive dialogue. "I heard lots of calls for bringing down the regime," he said. "The regime cannot be changed in the squares... this can only happen through state institutions." Both Hariri and Aoun have warned that a government resignation would lead to another vacuum, at a time the country desperately needs a government to enact reforms to help the struggling economy. Aoun invited the protesters to send representatives to meet with him. "I am ready to meet your representatives who will carry your worries and specify your demands, and you can listen to our concerns about an economic collapse," he said. "We should work together to achieve your goals without causing a collapse." "Dialogue is the best way for salvation. I am waiting for you," he added.