Lebanon’s government quits over Beirut blast

Lebanon’s prime minister stepped down along with his entire government yesterday in protest at the Beirut explosion. Hassan Diab said in a television broadcast that “the system of corruption is bigger than the state” as he attacked the incompetence and control on power of the country’s entrenched political elite. As he was speaking, protesters calling for “revolution” were pushed back from the parliament building by security forces firing tear gas.

LEBANON’S prime minister Hassan Diab stepped down yesterday following the deadly Beirut port blast he blamed on the incompetence and corruption of a decades-old ruling class.

Announcing the resignation of the entire government in a TV broadcast he said: “I have said before that the system of corruption is deep, but I discovered that the system of corruption is bigger than the state.”

Casting himself as the victim of a corrupt ruling class, he added: “Those people have been there for decades and their bad smell permeates everything.”

Mr Diab, who has been in power since January, said an entrenched political elite “who control the fate and the future of the country” made proper governance impossible. “We fought an honourable fight but this is not an equal fight,” he said.

Last Tuesday’s massive blast, which killed 200 people, was caused by the detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port for years.

It was seized from a cargo ship in 2013 and left at the docks ever since despite port officials repeatedly warning of the danger it posed.

At least five ministers had quit or threatened to resign yesterday following two nights of violent anti-government protests in Beirut over the weekend.

At an international donor conference on Sunday, nations made it clear that foreign aid would bypass the government to be “directly delivered to the Lebanese population”.

USAID acting administrator John Barsa said that American financial aid “is absolutely not going to the government”.

The cabinet was formed in January with the backing of the powerful Iranian-backed Hizbollah group and its allies. It was tasked with enacting reforms to address a financial crisis and act on the demands of a nationwide protest movement that forced the resignation of prime minister Saad Hariri last October.

The cabinet had already been described as a lame duck before the explosion, which also wounded more than 6,000 people, according to figures provided by Beirut governor Marwan Abboud.

Losses from the blast range from an estimated £7.5 billion up to £12 billion and come as the country was already suffering a crippling economic collapse.

Up to 300,000 people have been displaced and hundreds of buildings in the capital have been damaged beyond repair.

Mr Diab did not immediately offer details about what kind of caretaker body would replace the cabinet but many Lebanese are unlikely to be satisfied with his resignation.

As he was speaking, protesters calling for “revolution” were pushed back from the parliament building by security forces firing tear gas. Many Lebanese residents are calling for a reform of the country’s confessional electoral system.

It has allowed the same parties and leaders to remain in power since the end of the 1976-1990 civil war by allocating power according to sect rather than merit.

“We need total dissolution,” said Ghada Jannoun, a volunteer helping as part of an extensive clean-up operation around Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square yesterday.

Her colleague Fady Darwish, a muay Thai trainer, said foreign governments must act to force Lebanon’s entrenched elites to give up power.

“The most important thing we need from abroad is pressure,” he said.

“We need them to help us take the head off our president.”

‘Those people have been there for decades and their bad smell permeates through everything’