Lebanon army gets sweeping powers as FBI joins blast probe
Hale stresses the ‘urgent need’ for embracing reforms by Lebanon’s leaders; Unesco vows to protect 60 historic buildings at ‘risk of collapse;’ Tripoli readies port for food deliveries
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday approved a state of emergency in Beirut in its first session since the catastrophic Aug.4 explosion, granting the military sweeping powers amid rising popular anger at official corruption and mismanagement and political uncertainty.
The FBI will join investigators probing the cause of the huge port blast that destroyed swathes of Beirut, the top career diplomat at the US State Department said on Thursday.
“The FBI will soon join Lebanese and international investigators, at the invitation of the Lebanese, in order to help answer questions that I know everyone has about the circumstances that led up to this explosion,” David Hale told reporters during a tour of a heavily damaged neighbourhood near the port.
The government resigned ater the blast that killed more than 170 people, injured at least 6,000 and wrecked the capital’s port and caused widespread damage across the capital.
The disaster has raised popular fury toward Lebanon’s leaders to a new level as the country reels from an unprecedented economic and financial crisis, along with the coronavirus pandemic.
Before it resigned, the government declared the state of emergency that gave the military the power to declare curfews, prevent public gatherings and censor the media, as well as refer civilians to military tribunals for alleged security breaches. The action required approval by lawmakers, which they granted on Thursday.
The move has been criticised by rights groups and others who say the civilian government already was operating with increased powers because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Dozens of demonstrators shouted as lawmakers arrived at parliament to ratify the emergency measure, but protesters were outnumbered by security forces and failed to block the MPS’ cars.
“You have destroyed us! Leave!” demanded one social media post, calling for more street protests.
Parliament met outside its regular location to observe social distancing amid a surge of coronavirus cases and because of nearby ongoing protests by those who want the entire political class to step down.
The session opened with a moment of silence for those killed in the blast. It then moved to discuss the resignation of nearly a dozen lawmakers last week to protest the government’s handling of the blast. A major Christian party bloc is boycoting the session. Ater the government resigned on Monday, the cabinet is in a caretaker capacity.
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri called on authorities “to speed up the process of forming a cabinet” that can spearhead reforms.
The FBI will join Lebanese and other international investigators in the probe of the massive explosion at Beirut’s port that killed more than 170 people, injured thousands and caused widespread destruction, a US diplomat said on Thursday.
Lebanese authorities had invited the FBI to take part, and it is one way that Washington can help the country deal with the effects of the disaster, said US Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale as he toured the Gemayezeh neighbourhood, which was damaged by the Aug. 4 blast.
“The FBI will soon join Lebanese and international investigators at the invitation of the Lebanese in order to help answer questions that I know everyone has about the circumstances that led up to this explosion,” he told reporters.
French investigators are also taking part in the probe.
The US Embassy said Hale is expected to “reiterate the American government’s commitment to assist the Lebanese people in recovering from the tragedy and rebuilding their lives.” He will also stress the “urgent need” for embracing fundamental reforms by Lebanon’s leaders.
On Thursday, Lebanon’s Parliament approved a state of emergency in Beirut in its first session since the explosion, granting the military sweeping powers amid rising popular anger at official corruption and mismanagement and political uncertainty.
The UN’S cultural agency Unesco vowed on Thursday to lead efforts to protect vulnerable heritage in Lebanon, warning that 60 historic buildings were at risk of collapse.
“The international community has sent a strong signal of support to Lebanon following this tragedy,” said Ernesto Otone, assistant Unesco Director-general for Culture.
“Unesco is commited to leading the response in the field of culture, which must form a key part of wider reconstruction and recovery efforts.” Sarkis Khoury, head of antiquities at the ministry of culture in Lebanon, reported at an online meeting this week to coordinate the response that at least 8,000 buildings were affected, said the Paris-based organisation.
“Among them are some 640 historic buildings, approximately 60 of which are at risk of collapse,” Unesco said in a statement.
“He (Khoury) also spoke of the impact of the explosion on major museums, such as the National Museum of Beirut, the Sursock Museum and the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut, as well as cultural spaces, galleries and religious sites.” Unesco said Khoury “stressed the need for urgent structural consolidation and waterproofing interventions to prevent further damage from approaching autumn rains.” Meanwhile, Tripoli is readying its port to temporarily replace that of Beirut and ensure urgently needed food deliveries, officials said on Thursday, ater the capital’s harbour was levelled in a massive explosion.
Tripoli port’s capacity is smaller than Beirut’s, through which the vast majority of Lebanon’s food and other imports used to transit.
Immediately ater the disaster, Lebanon’s Supreme Defence Council ordered that the port of Tripoli be set up for “import and export operations.” “The port of Tripoli can stand in for Beirut on a temporary basis, for the time it will take it to be operational again,” Tripoli port director Ahmad Tamer said from his office at the harbour.
Tripoli port employees are working 18 hours a day to respond to the emergency needs and the sprawling compound is busier than it has ever been.
The smaller ports of Saida and Tyre can also contribute to the effort but their capacity is limited and does not allow for bigger vessels to dock.
Tamer said seven ships that had been heading to Beirut on the day of the explosion were immediately rerouted to Tripoli, where they unloaded their cargo.
Tripoli had already undergone major upgrade works in order to accomodate increased traffic expected in connection with the reconstruction effort needed in neighbouring, war-ravaged Syria.
Tamer said that before the explosion Tripoli port was only functioning at 40 per cent capacity, processing two million tonnes of imports per year, with a maximum capacity of five million.