Beirut, Lebanon
Reuters
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 criticised 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.
People carry national flags near the site of last year’s Beirut port blast, as Lebanon marks the one-year anniversary of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on 4th August. PICTURE: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
One of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, the blast killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and was felt in Cyprus, more than 240 kilometres away.
Thousands of people, many holding pictures of the dead and waving Lebanese flags, gathered near the port.
Pope Francis waves as he arrives at the Paul VI Hall for the weekly general audience at the Vatican, on 4th August. PICTURE: Reuters/Remo Casilli
POPE, ON ANNIVERSARY OF BEIRUT BLAST, PROMISES LEBANON VISIT
Pope Francis, speaking at his first general audience since he underwent intestinal surgery a month ago and on the first anniversary on Wednesday of a fatal blast in Beirut, said he had a “great” desire to visit Lebanon.
The 84-year-old Pope, who looked fit and improvised parts of his address, also wished success for French President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to raise more than $US350 million in aid for Lebanon at a donors’ conference and send another warning to its squabbling political class.
The huge chemical explosion in Beirut killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
Francis was speaking in the Vatican’s audience hall. He said many in Lebanon, which is mired in a financial depression and faces its worst social crisis in 30 years, had lost “even the illusion of living”.
Donors should help Lebanon “on a path of resurrection”, he said. He called for “concrete gestures, not just words” because many who had lost their homes and jobs were tired and deluded.
“Dear Lebanese, my desire to come to visit you is great. And I will not tire of praying for you so that Lebanon returns to being a message of brotherhood, a message of peace for all of the Middle East,” he said.
The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, said last month the visit could take place late this year or early next year. He suggested the Pope could go even without a government in place.
Several hundred people, nearly all of them wearing masks against COVID-19, attended the indoor gathering in the Paul VI Audience hall, where they are held during the hot summer months.
Francis walked unassisted across the stage and spoke while seated and then later went to greet people in the front row. The only difference with previous indoor audiences was that he did not walk down the long central aisle.
Francis spent 11 days in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital following surgery on 4th July to remove part of his colon because he was suffering from a severe case of symptomatic diverticular stenosis, or narrowing of the colon.
The Vatican is going ahead with plans for a 12th to 15th September trip to Slovakia and the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
– PHILIP PULLELLA, Reuters
As a memorial service got under way at the port, water cannon and tear gas were fired at protesters who threw stones towards security forces near parliament. Eight people were wounded, the Red Cross said.
An investigation is stalling, with requests denied for immunity to be lifted from senior politicians and former officials. All those sought for questioning by the Lebanese investigators have denied any wrongdoing.
The chemicals arrived on a Russian-leased cargo ship that made an unscheduled stop in Beirut in 2013. An FBI report seen by Reuters last week estimated around 552 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded, far less than the 2,754 tonnes that arrived.
“It is shameful that officials evade the investigation under the cover of immunity,” al-Rai, Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric, said during a Mass at the port.
“All immunities fall in the face of the victims’ blood, there is no immunity against justice.”
“We want to know who brought in the explosives…who allowed for their unloading and storage, who removed quantities of it and where it was sent.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Lebanese leaders owed the people the truth.
The damage is still visible in much of the capital, particularly the predominantly Christian districts of east Beirut that were most badly affected. The port resembles a bomb site, its huge grain silo still unrepaired.
A huge banner on a building overlooking the port said: “Hostages of a Murderous State.”
Relatives of the dead clutched photos of their loved ones.
Army helicopters flew overhead giving off red and green smoke – the national colours – as Quranic verses were recited at the start of the service and the victims’ names were read.
“We will not forget and we will not forgive them ever. And if they can’t bring them to account, we will by our own hands,” said Hiyam al-Bikai, dressed in black and clutching a picture of her son, Ahmad, who was killed when masonry fell on his car.
“Historic and moral failure”
A Human Rights Watch report released this week concluded that evidence suggested some Lebanese officials knew about and tacitly accepted the lethal risks posed by ammonium nitrate.
Reuters reported last August that Prime Minister Hassan Diab and President Michel Aoun were both warned in July last year that the chemicals posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if they exploded.
Aoun has said he is ready to testify if needed, and that he supports an impartial investigation.
Diab, who quit after the blast, has said his conscience is clear.
Leading prayers at a hospital that was badly damaged in the blast, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi said nobody was above the law, and “whoever obstructs justice is a criminal, even if they are highly placed”.
At the time of the explosion, Lebanese were already facing deepening hardship due to the financial crisis caused by decades of state corruption and waste.
The meltdown worsened throughout the last year with the governing elite failing to establish a new cabinet to start tackling the crisis even as poverty has soared and medicines and fuel have run out.
A donors’ conference hosted by France raised $US370 million. France has led Western pressure on Lebanese leaders to enact reforms, but to no avail. “Lebanese leaders seem to bet on a stalling strategy, which I regret and I think is a historic and moral failure,” Macron said.
The state has taken no steps towards reforms that might ease the economic crisis, with the sectarian elite locked in a power struggle over cabinet posts.
As the crowds built in Beirut, two people were injured in scuffles between supporters of rival parties in the nearby Gemmayzeh area, a security source said. Gun shots were fired into the air.
– With MICHEL ROSE in Paris
