Military gets sweeping powers after Beirut blast
Lebanon’s Parliament yesterday approved a state of emergency in Beirut in its first session since the catastrophic August 4 explosion, granting the military sweeping powers amid rising popular anger at official corruption and mismanagement and political uncertainty. The government resigned after the blast that killed more than 170 people, injured at least 6000 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 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. Some pointed to the military crackdown on protesters last week, fearing the extended powers could lead to silencing dissent. 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. It still was not known what caused the fire responsible for igniting nearly 2500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that were stored for years in Beirut’s port. But documents have emerged that show the country’s top leadership and security officials were aware of the stockpile. After the government resigned on Tuesday, the Cabinet is in a caretaker capacity. It was not immediately clear if Parliament had technically extended the government decision on the state of emergency for 15 days or simply imposed it to take effect starting yesterday, said rights lawyer Nizar Saghieh. He said the state of emergency’s only justification is to extend the power of the state and security agencies and “control the opposition”. “We were waiting for the Army to help in reconstruction, not be an extension of power.” Lawmaker Simon Abi Ramieh protested that Parliament was convened to vote on the state of emergency while it was already in effect and called instead for forming a parliamentary committee to investigate the explosion. “We are living in a state of institutional blunder,” he said. “The public wants to know the truth behind the negligence that led to the explosion.” Lebanon’s political landscape has been shaken by the events. Before resigning, the caretaker prime minister proposed early elections, an idea that was not supported by the Parliament speaker and other political groups. Since the resignation, there has been a flurry of closed-door meetings and political haggling to form a government that meets the approval of domestic and international powers. Lebanon’s complicated sectarianbased political system requires the prime minister to be chosen from among Sunni Muslims. It wasn’t clear if there would be a national unity government — which would mean the participation of all political parties — or an emergency transition government.