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Added on the 04/08/2021 16:39:33 - Copyright : AFP EN
Thousands of grief-stricken Lebanese marched Wednesday to mark a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged Beirut, protesting impunity over the country's worst peacetime disaster at a time when its economy was already in tatters. Shortly after 6:00 pm on August 4, 2020, a stock of ammonium nitrate fertiliser haphazardly stored at the city's port exploded and left swathes of the Lebanese capital looking like a war zone. What went down as one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history killed at least 214 people, levelled entire neighbourhoods, irreparably scarred the nation's psyche and deepened the country's economic abyss. France 24's correspondent Sally Farhat tells us more.
Lebanese march towards Beirut's port to mark a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the city, protesting impunity over the country's worst peacetime disaster at a time when its economy was already in tatters. IMAGES
Relatives of Beirut port blast victims march towards the blast site, to mark two years since the massive dockside explosion ripped through the Lebanese capital. IMAGES
A Shiite rally against port blast judge Tarek Bitar escalated into deadly clashes, turning parts of Beirut into a war zone and sparking memories of the 1975-1990 civil war. And so now the Lebanese people will have to choose, explains Joseph Bahout, IFI Director and Professor at American University of Beirut (AUB), 'between stability, peace, etc. which is something dear and valuable, and truth on the harbor explosion that have left, in fact, the city completely destroyed and people's minds completely destroyed.' Offering historical perspective, Professor Bahout adds, 'If you think of it historically and retrospectively, this is a choice that Lebanon is always confronting.' Both during the civil war, and following the assassination of Rafic Hariri, Lebanon 'had to confront this choice between truth and reconciliation, on the one hand, and stability on the other.' Despite assurances of Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the page will be turned, Professor Bahout warns that the prime minister is facing a 'Shakespearean dilemma.' And so, he fears that the government of Lebanon will ultimately follow the model of authoritarian regimes in the region by making 'the choice of preserving civil peace and squandering, and maybe dropping, the case of Judge Bitar and the entire inquiry on the port explosion.'
Lebanon's leading Christian cleric said there could be no immunity from prosecution over the catastrophic Beirut port blast and that officials were evading investigation, as many Lebanese marked the first anniversary by demanding justice. As Lebanon suffers a crippling economic collapse, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai also criticized the ruling class for failing to deal with the crisis - criticism echoed by Western powers at a Paris donors' conference. One year since the blast, caused by a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate kept at the port for years, no senior official has been held to account, infuriating many Lebanese. Lebanon's high-ranking government officials have been widely accused of obstructing the on-going investigation, and they continue to block the lead investigator Judge Tarek Bitar at every turn. And despite the intense pressure at home and abroad, Beirut lawyer Diane Assaf does not believe that the Lebanese legal system "is capable of reaching the truth or holding the murderers accountable." For there to be justice, Ms. Assaf asserts that "we need the establishment of an international, impartial and independent investigative mission. A letter has been sent from approximately 50-52 international NGOs and family victims to the United Nations Human Rights Council to demand an establishment of this investigative mission." Back in July, former PM Saad Hariri went as far as proposing a parliament vote on an amendment to the constitution that would waive immunity for high-ranking government officials. Ms. Assaf explains why that would not be a good idea. "His position is clearly to absorb the frustration and the anger of the Lebanese people, and amending the constitution is a very complicated and difficult process. It will probably never happen. They just need to lift the immunity (immediately) and no need to amend the constitution."
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