Facing rising public fury, prime minister steps down

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s prime minister resigned Monday in the fallout from the catastrophic explosion in Beirut that has triggered public outrage, saying he has concluded that corruption in the country is “bigger than the state.”

The move risks opening the way to draggedout negotiations over a new Cabinet amid urgent calls for reform. It follows a weekend of antigovernment protests after the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut’s port that decimated the facility and caused widespread destruction, killing at least 160 people and injuring 6,000 others.

In a brief televised speech after three of his ministers resigned, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said he is taking “a step back” so he can stand with the people “and fight the battle for change alongside them.”

“I declare today the resignation of this government. May God protect Lebanon,” he said, repeating the last phrase three times.

The moment typified Lebanon’s political dilemma. Since October, there have been mass demonstrations demanding the departure of the entire sectarianbased leadership over entrenched corruption, incompetence and mismanagement. But the ruling oligarchy has held onto power for so long — since the end of the civil war in 1990 — that it is difficult to find a credible political figure untainted by connections to it.

Diab blamed corrupt politicians who preceded him for the “earthquake” that has hit Lebanon.

“They (political class) should have been ashamed of themselves because their corruption is what has led to this disaster that had been hidden for seven years,” he said.

“I have discovered that corruption is bigger than the state and that the state is paralyzed by this (ruling) clique and cannot confront it or get rid of it,” said Diab.

Diab’s government was formed after his predecessor, Saad Hariri, stepped down in October in response to the demonstrations. It took months of bickering among leadership factions before they settled on Diab.

His government, which was supported by the Hezbollah militant group and its allies and seen as onesided, was basically doomed from the start, tasked with meeting demands for reform but made up of all the factions that reformers want out. Now the process must start again, with Diab’s government in a caretaker role as the same factions debate a new one.

The explosion is believed to have been caused by a fire that ignited a 2,750ton stockpile of highly volatile ammonium nitrate. The material had been stored at the port since 2013 with few safeguards despite numerous warnings of the danger. Losses from the blast are estimated to be between $10 billion and $15 billion, with nearly 300,000 people left homeless.