A Miscellaneous English Bundle Of Editorials, Analysis & Reports Addressing Current Unfloding Dire Events In The Iranian Occupied Lebanon/رزمة من المقالات والتحاليل والتقارير باللغة الإنكليزية تغطي التطورات الخطيرة التي يتعرض لها لبنان في ظل الإحتلال الإيراني البغيض
A Miscellaneous English Bundle Of Editorials, Analysis & Reports Addressing Current Unfloding Dire Events In The Iranian Occupied Lebanon رزمة من المقالات والتحاليل والتقارير باللغة الإنكليزية تغطي التطورات الخطيرة التي يتعرض لها لبنان في ظل الإحتلال الإيراني البغيض
US Senate Resolution Slams Hezbollah Role in Lebanon/Washington – Elie Youssef/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 15 August, 2020
Lebanese president doesn’t rule out possibility of peace with Israel/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
Zarif wary Hezbollah could lose grip over Lebanon/The Arab Weekly/August 16/2020
Lebanese president doesn’t rule out possibility of peace with Israel/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
On Lebanon that’s Dying Simultaneously Like an Old-Young Man/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/August 16/2020
Hizballah’s ‘deep state’ prepares to investigate itself/Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
Why Lebanon won’t make peace with Israel so long as Hezbollah is around/Seith J.Frantman/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020
An international probe into Beirut explosion seems far-fetched/Rami Rayess/Sunday 16 August 2020
After the Beirut explosion, Lebanon’s political elite should be forced out Hanin Ghaddar/Sunday 16 August 2020
Business owners suffer blow as Beirut explosion wrecks cafés, galleries, livelihoods Bassam Zaazaa, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 16 August 2020
Lebanese protesters fight to bring down the system/Mark Mackinon/The Globe & Mail/August 15/2020
US says no bailout for Lebanon, calls for change/Bassem Mroue and Andrea Rosa, AP/August 15/2020
U.S. calls for credible probe into ‘overwhelming’ Beirut blast/Michael Georgy and Tom Perry/Reuters/August 15/2020
UN Launches $565 mn Appeal for Beirut Blast Victims/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 15 August, 2020
Families of Beirut Blast Victims Plead for Outside Inquiry/Associated Press/Naharnet/August 14/2020
Hariri, a strong PM option in Lebanon, awaits US-Saudi green light/The Arab Weekly/August 14/2020
Lebanon’s young hit the streets to help city battered by explosion/Aya Iskandarani/The National/August 14/2020
Families of Beirut blast victims demand UN Security Council probe into ‘massacre’ Najia HoussariArab News/August 14/2020
Despair and Anger in the City’s Skies Elias Harfoush/Asharq Al Awsat/August 14/2020
Can Macron set Lebanon on a path to a brighter future?/Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri/Arab News/August 15/ 2020
What’s next after the resignation of Lebanon’s government?/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/August 14/2020
Lebanon will never get well as long as Hezbollah is strangling it/Dr. John C. Hulsman/Arab News/August 14/2020
****** US Senate Resolution Slams Hezbollah Role in Lebanon/Washington – Elie Youssef/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 15 August, 2020 A bipartisan US Senate resolution urges the Lebanese government to restore faith and confidence by prioritizing policies that advance the people’s interests. Senator Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, and SFRC ranking member Bob Menendez (D-NJ) joined senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) in introducing the resolution regarding the massive explosion in the Port of Beirut on August 4. The resolution affirms that US assistance “should be delivered directly to the Lebanese people through properly vetted channels, organizations, and individuals.” The Senators said the blast “coincides with a period of protracted political crisis in Lebanon” adding that “endemic corruption” and “Hezbollah’s management” has led Lebanon to the brink of economic collapse. Washington “has longstanding concerns about Hezbollah’s use of and influence over the Beirut port as a transit and storage point for its terrorist enterprise,” they said. The Lebanese people from “across the political spectrum have renewed demands for a meaningful change in Lebanon’s political leadership, government accountability, and transparency,” they added. They stressed the need for a stable Lebanon with a credible, transparent government free from Iranian and Hezbollah meddling. The Senators also urged the Lebanese government “to conduct a credible, impartial, and transparent investigation int
Lebanese president doesn’t rule out possibility of peace with Israel/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020 Concerning whether Lebanon would consider making peace with Israel, Aoun stated “That depends. We have problems with Israel and we have to resolve them first.”Lebanese President Michel Aoun expressed willingness to consider peace talks with Israel in an interview with French BFM TV news channel on Saturday night, just days after the United Arab Emirates signed a historic normalization deal with Israel. In response to a question concerning whether Lebanon would consider making peace with Israel, Aoun stated, “That depends. We have problems with Israel, and we have to resolve them first.” Aoun did not specify what problems would need to be resolved. Recall, Aoun, represents Lebanon, and is an ally with the Hezbollah terrorist group. In 2006, Aoun signed a formal agreement of alliance between his Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah, and has consistently backed the Shi’ite group ever since. In remarks made after his 2006 election aimed at Hezbollah backers, Aoun vowed to “release what is left of our lands from the Israeli occupation,” referring to contested territories along the border with the Jewish state. Concerning the recent normalization deal signed between the UAE and Israel, Aoun stated that the UAE is an “independent country.” In a statement made concerning neutrality in July, Aoun stated that Lebanon will “not attack anyone,” but is “obliged to defend” itself, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. In a television interview in 2005, Aoun pointed to peace deals made between Israel and Jordan and Egypt and stressed that “Lebanon, which has been resisting for 35 years, cannot continue to resist Israel all by itself. It cannot go against the general Arab trend,” according to MEMRI. He added that he was “not calling for peace” and that Lebanon would be the “last to sign a peace agreement with Israel.”The statements on Saturday come amid continued tensions between Hezbollah and Israel and claims in Lebanon and Iran that Israel was behind the blast at the Beirut Port that killed 178 people and destroyed much of the nation’s capital. In the interview on Saturday night, Aoun said all hypotheses remained open in the investigation into the blast at the port of Beirut that wrecked huge swathes of the capital. On Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that if it was found that Israel was responsible for the blast, it would pay an “equal price,” according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV. The Hezbollah leader called the deal between the UAE and Israel a “stab in the back.”Nasrallah added that the terror group still intended to respond to the killing of a Hezbollah member in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus last month, saying that it was a “matter of time.”
Zarif wary Hezbollah could lose grip over Lebanon/The Arab Weekly/August 16/2020 BEIRUT –Statements made Friday by Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif in Beirut reflected fears of Hezbollah losing its hegemony over Lebanon, at a time when 700 French soldiers are expected to arrive in Lebanon, only a couple of days following French President Emmanuel Macron’s phone call to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani telling him to stop meddling in Lebanese affairs. This comes at a time when the political class in Lebanon is facing mounting international pressure to form a government dedicated to combatting corruption and saving the country from its political and economic meltdown. In the past few days, senior American, French and German officials held talks with Lebanese officials, headed by President Michel Aoun. The latter has agreed to have the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) participate in investigating the August 4 massive explosion at Beirut port which destroyed part of the Lebanese capital. The French Minister for the Armies, Florence Parly, invited the Lebanese to form a government capable of taking courageous decisions, noting that 700 French soldiers are preparing to come to Lebanon. Parly indicated, during her visit to the site of the explosion at Beirut port, that “these painful scenes leave a great impact on my country, and every French felt that he was concerned with what happened.” As if to respond to Parly, Zarif said, “Only the Lebanese people and their representatives can decide on the future of their country, after the massive explosion that rocked the city’s port and killed 172 people and pushed the government to resign.”In a joint press conference with the Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs in the caretaker government, Charbel Wehbe, Zarif added: “From our point of view, it is not humane to exploit peoples’ pain and suffering to achieve political goals.” Iran supports the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which, along with its allies, played a key role in forming the outgoing government headed by Hassan Diab. Zarif’s visit to Beirut coincided with a flurry of Western diplomatic activity, urging Lebanon to eradicate corruption and enact long-awaited reforms so as to open the way for international financial aid to address the country’s economic crisis. A former Lebanese minister ridiculed Zarif’s accusation to other countries of exploiting the pain of the Lebanese to achieve political goals. He told The Arab Weekly “It seems that Zarif is still speaking in the manner of a tendentious agenda, while the whole world has revealed the position of the Lebanese people, all sects included, which rejects sectarianism and corruption of the ruling political class, a class subjected to Hezbollah’s agenda.” “Lebanon’s real problem is that it has become a hostage of Hezbollah, a party run from Tehran. This is the reality that is pushing the Lebanese to stand up to the Iranian foreign minister,” he added, asking not to be named. The Lebanese political class has been the target of ongoing popular protests, blaming it for the country’s many woes, even from before the August 4 blastthat killed and wounded thousands and destroyed entire neighbourhoods of the coastal city. The blast left 300,000 people homeless and about 30 people are still missing. On Friday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun held separate talks with David Hale, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and French Minister for the Armies, Florence Parly. Hale said that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will participate in investigating the cause and circumstances of the explosion that had occurred in a warehouse in the port and sent a huge cloud over the city sky. He further called for an end to “lame governments and hollow promises.” There was no shortage of international humanitarian aid to Lebanon, but foreign donors conditioned their financial aid on the state introducing reforms. The country is already defaulting on its huge sovereign debt. Meanwhile, the French Navy helicopter carrier Tonnerre docked on Friday in the devastated seaport of Beirut. The Lebanese authorities had said that more than 2,000 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate have been stored in a warehouse at the port for years without the appropriate security measures being taken. President Aoun promised to conduct a speedy investigation into the explosion. He said the investigation will look into whether the cause was negligence, “outside interference” or just an accident. Representatives of the victims’ families held a press conference and appealed to the UN Security Council, urging it to appoint an international investigation committee and refer the case to an international court. A website created to provide a voice to the victims and their families said, “Government negligence and corruption have played a fundamental role in this crime.”“We have decided to demand justice for all the victims to ensure that this crime is investigated and those responsible are properly prosecuted and punished,” the site added. “We are convinced that only an independent international investigation can get to the truth and achieve justice for us … The international investigation and international trial are necessary to achieve justice for us. Enough impunity already and enough injustice!” The Lebanese national news agency said that a scheduled interrogation of some ministers on Friday was postponed after the judge appointed for this task said that he had no authority to question government ministers. The government’s resignation added to the uncertainty. Agreement on a new government is likely to be a difficult task in a country suffering from deep sectarian divisions and is governed under a sectarian power-sharing system. A prominent Christian cleric in Lebanon expressed his concern Thursday that a new Lebanon “is being cooked in the kitchens” of foreign countries, without naming them. Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, who demands that Beirut distance itself from regional conflicts, said in a sermon, “They started to cook things that are not in the interest of Lebanon at all, but for the benefit of some politicians and factions, and this we categorically reject and we will fight it.”
Lebanese president doesn’t rule out possibility of peace with Israel/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020 Concerning whether Lebanon would consider making peace with Israel, Aoun stated “That depends. We have problems with Israel and we have to resolve them first.”Lebanese President Michel Aoun expressed willingness to consider peace talks with Israel in an interview with French BFM TV news channel on Saturday night, just days after the United Arab Emirates signed a historic normalization deal with Israel. In response to a question concerning whether Lebanon would consider making peace with Israel, Aoun stated, “That depends. We have problems with Israel, and we have to resolve them first.” Aoun did not specify what problems would need to be resolved. Recall, Aoun, represents Lebanon, and is an ally with the Hezbollah terrorist group. In 2006, Aoun signed a formal agreement of alliance between his Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah, and has consistently backed the Shi’ite group ever since. In remarks made after his 2006 election aimed at Hezbollah backers, Aoun vowed to “release what is left of our lands from the Israeli occupation,” referring to contested territories along the border with the Jewish state. Concerning the recent normalization deal signed between the UAE and Israel, Aoun stated that the UAE is an “independent country.” In a statement made concerning neutrality in July, Aoun stated that Lebanon will “not attack anyone,” but is “obliged to defend” itself, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. In a television interview in 2005, Aoun pointed to peace deals made between Israel and Jordan and Egypt and stressed that “Lebanon, which has been resisting for 35 years, cannot continue to resist Israel all by itself. It cannot go against the general Arab trend,” according to MEMRI. He added that he was “not calling for peace” and that Lebanon would be the “last to sign a peace agreement with Israel.”The statements on Saturday come amid continued tensions between Hezbollah and Israel and claims in Lebanon and Iran that Israel was behind the blast at the Beirut Port that killed 178 people and destroyed much of the nation’s capital. In the interview on Saturday night, Aoun said all hypotheses remained open in the investigation into the blast at the port of Beirut that wrecked huge swathes of the capital. On Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that if it was found that Israel was responsible for the blast, it would pay an “equal price,” according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV. The Hezbollah leader called the deal between the UAE and Israel a “stab in the back.”Nasrallah added that the terror group still intended to respond to the killing of a Hezbollah member in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus last month, saying that it was a “matter of time.” *Reuters contributed to this report.
On Lebanon that’s Dying Simultaneously Like an Old-Young Man/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/August 16/2020 Could one die while he is an elder and yet a young man at the same time? This Lebanon’s state today. The horrifying and incomparable crime at Beirut’s port declared the country’s death at its 100 years of age. It can be added that omens of death have always been murmured throughout this country’s history, during both of its first and second republics. In the first republic, there were the 1958, 1969, and 1973 before the 1975 war, which lasted 14 years but was not the last of our sorrows. The country was 32 years old at the time. In the second republic, there were 1996, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2019-2020, in addition to the long periods during which parliament had been suspended or there was a presidential vacuum and forming governments had been difficult. Then came the crime of genocidal nature. The Lebanese who had been awaiting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s verdict on Rafic Hariri’s assassination, are now awaiting an international investigation into a bitter and more serious crime. The people of Lebanon are in absolute despair. The Lebanese project has always been difficult, and it has always had a strong propensity to die out. But now, with hundreds dead, thousands injured and hundreds of thousands displaced and suffering, all the pillars of the country are collapsing: – Its system of governance and the class that governed it are collapsing. In its bankruptcy, it can do nothing but declare a state of emergency and hide behind the military’s authority. – Its economic system, which is closely tied up to politicians, is collapsing. The banks, which had been the economy’s major source of pride, are now reeling. – The state of affairs wherein amassing arms and establishing parallel armies that drag the country into avoidable regional conflicts is collapsing. – A cultural system, with all its faces and different orientations, is collapsing, as it is incapable of taking on the tasks presented by this difficult project. – Despite signs to the contrary, some of them empty symbols, what remains of “sectarian coexistence”, which was the backbone of the Lebanese regime and national consensus, is collapsing. – The tide of immigration is rising, especially among potential innovators: The educated and qualified young men and women, and those in the upper half of the social pyramid. All kinds of institutions are deteriorating, from universities to hospitals … Until further notice, Lebanon will not have cities or ports… These crises befall the country amid a major economic crisis that has recently been crowned by the recent disaster and the need for reconstruction. It has become difficult to envision traditional methods solving things, to say nothing of the traditional political elite, while there are no substantial alternative political forces that cut across groups and sects on the horizon. As for the world’s ability to provide aid, it remains limited and is in doubt for several reasons, some of which have to do with Lebanon and others with the world: The massive volume of assistance required amid a global economic crisis, and also amid internal discord, rampant corruption and hesitation to reform, Hezbollah’s weapons, and conflicting positions amongst influential regional and international sates. All of this, and we have not gotten to the investigation yet, while its process and revelations may conclusively destroy what is left of the superficial peace. In other words: “Lebanon’s revival”, this time, is far less likely than its death. Who knows, after a short while, the situation in Lebanon and Beirut may devolve into desertification, as happened to other devastated cities and countries (Baghdad after the conquest of Hulagu in 1258?). The pain and grief invoked by this image are compounded by the fact that Lebanon remains an urgent need, not only for itself but for the entire region as well. What is meant here is the freedom its elected parliament allows, its free press, and the parties and unions that are freely established and free to compete. What is also meant here is an economic and cultural openness to the world, especially the West, and a relatively wide margin of freedom of thought and freedom to do what one pleases with his or her body. What is meant is a formula that managed to evade transformation into a military regime and avoided its repression, and did not impose an official ideology on society that defines right and wrong. What is meant is that minorities did not feel, at least not in times of normalcy, afraid because they are minorities. What is meant here is the role played by this small country (when it had not yet been a country) in what has become known as the “Arab Renaissance.” Reality is seldom removed from its idea, nor is an idea often removed from its reality, as is the case in Lebanon today. Thus, the dying country stops being merely a country, but rather a symbol of a mind-set and relationship that we neglected and mistreated until it eventually left us. In this sense, Lebanon will die young, its people and the region will lose a lot as a result of its death. They will lose an image of the future, a project to emulate, and a potential path to modernity. This is what justifies including the current – latest Beirut’s disaster amongst the major disasters faced by Levantine Arabs: The 1948 Nakba in Palestine, the 1967 Arab defeat, the rise of military and security regimes, and the Khomeinist revolution in Iran… and this is the path we are walking down.
Hizballah’s ‘deep state’ prepares to investigate itself/Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020 The death toll in the August 4 explosion at the Beirut port has now reached 163. More than 6,000 people were injured. Large parts of the city were destroyed. The latest information detailed this week by Reuters suggests that the Lebanese authorities were warned in the weeks prior to the explosion of the need to secure the 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Hangar 12 at the port. Public anger in Lebanon is now at white heat. Demonstrators in Beirut this week occupied a number of government buildings. The resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and a number of other ministers has had little effect on the public mood. The resignation will not trigger elections, or anything resembling real change. Lebanon has long experience with ‘caretaker’ governments whose terms stretch on for months or even years, lacking any mandate or capability for taking significant decisions. The focus of public anger is on the corrupt, shoddy and inefficient nature of governance in Lebanon. The explosion at the port was the most extreme and dramatic manifestation of a deep decay infecting every part of Lebanese public life and infrastructure. This is a country well on the way towards ‘failed state’ status. In March, Lebanon for the first time defaulted on $1.2 billion in foreign debts. The Lebanese pound has experienced a 70% drop in value since October. The country is experiencing hyperinflation. But while the focus of international coverage of Lebanon since the blast has been on the corrupt, graft-ridden and inefficient nature of Lebanese public life, this is only part of the picture of the country’s malaise – and not the most significant element. Beneath the morass of Lebanon’s debased political culture, there is another structure. This structure is not, in general, corrupt. It is not inefficient. It is not unaware of where its assets are placed, and it is not subject to replacement by elections, or by street demonstrations. This structure is the Hizballah deep state. It is the true arbiter of power in Lebanon, both visibly and invisibly. On the overt level, the parliamentary bloc controlled by Hizballah maintains control of 74 seats in the 128 member parliament. This enabled it to dictate the composition of the now collapsing Cabinet (19 out of 30 portfolios were affiliated with its bloc). It will give Hizballah a powerful voice in deciding the content of its replacement. Hizballah possesses a military force, according to an estimate by Janes Information Group, of 25,000 full time fighters, along with 20-30,000 reservists. The official army, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), has 72,000 personnel. But it is riven with sectarian division. Thus, Hizballah has an armed capacity in Lebanon superior to all competitors, including the army of the nominal state. But it is at the unseen level that the power of the Hizballah deep state is at its most profound. The head of the country’s most powerful security organ, the General Directorate of General Security (GSDG) is General Abbas Ibrahim. Ibrahim is a close ally of Hizballah. This is no great secret in Lebanon. Abbas Ibrahim is close to and appears regularly in public with Wafiq Safa, the head of Hizballah’s security apparatus. Safa, meanwhile, as described by Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt with admirable simplicity, ‘decides what the army and security forces can do.’ Behind Wafiq Safa, is Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. And behind him is the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is the structure against which there is no right of appeal in Lebanon. The GSDG, as the main internal security service, is set to play a prominent role in the internal investigation of the explosion at the port. Ibrahim’s friend and comrade Wafiq Safa, meanwhile, was described by the US Treasury Department in July 2019 as having ‘exploited Lebanon’s ports and border crossings to smuggle contraband and facilitate travel on behalf of Hizballah, undermining the security and safety of the Lebanese people, while also draining valuable import duties and revenue away from the Lebanese government.’ That is, Hizballah’s deep state is about to investigate itself. It is not difficult to imagine the results of the Hizballah power structure’s self-investigation. The ‘mystery’ of who exactly owned 2750 tonnes of an explosive material known to be favored by Hizballah, in a port known to be under the security control of Hizballah, will no doubt be deemed another of the baffling riddles of the Orient. It is important, nevertheless, that any remaining obscurity regarding who really holds power in Lebanon be dispelled. One enthusiastic supporter of Hizballah tweeted this week, ‘The Lebanese government can resign 100 times. But Hizballah wont disarm.’ That succinctly sums up the reality. It is the Hizballah power structure which prevents the possibility of normal practices at Lebanon’s entry and exit points. It does so because these points, and the clandestine transport and storage of war materiel at and through them, are essential elements in its deployment for a future conflict with Israel. If a new Prime minister is found, a new Cabinet cobbled together, a ‘national unity’ government declared, and international largesse then piled on Lebanon, the beneficiaries of the blast in the port will be the Hizballah power structure. This would come as a welcome relief for the movement at a time when it is facing unprecedented difficulties. As the dominant force in government, Hizballah has been unable to shield itself from public criticism for the disastrous economic collapse of recent months. International financial bodies are reluctant to bail Lebanon out without a commitment to financial transparency. The Hizballah power structure prefers opacity, behind which it conceals itself. As a result, having defaulted on its debts, Lebanon remains without a bailout package from the IMF. The Gulf countries that might have once helped have turned their backs on Lebanon, because of its domination by Hizballah. Iran, Hizballah’s patron, is unable to offer substantial help because the US policy of maximum pressure has placed it deep in its own economic crisis. The full results of Iran’s hostile takeover of Lebanon are thus currently becoming apparent. Khalid al-Bari, writing in the Saudi Sharq al-Awsat newspaper this week, noted that ‘Hezbollah is the only group of criminals who creates transnational security, military, and economic crises that destroy lives, and no one touches them; they are here to stay.’ Western governments need to grasp the fact of Hizballah and Iran’s full spectrum ownership of Lebanon at the present time. They should then understand the implications of this. And they should then design policy to contain or change it. Anything else risks turning the disastrous explosion at the Beirut port into a windfall for the true rulers of Lebanon – the IRGC and its local franchise, Hizballah.
Why Lebanon won’t make peace with Israel so long as Hezbollah is around/Seith J.Frantman/Jerusalem Post/August 16/2020 Discussions about countries making peace with Israel come in the wake of the United Arab Emirates agreeing to normalize relations with the Jewish state. Lebanese President Michel Aoun made a cryptic comment over the weekend when asked about Lebanon and Israel making peace. “That depends,” Asia Times quoted him as saying. “We have problems with Israel, and we have to resolve them first.” This was taken to mean that such a peace was possible. It isn’t. Discussions about countries making peace with Israel come in the wake of the United Arab Emirates agreeing to normalize relations with the Jewish state. For Lebanon, things are much more complex than for the Gulf monarchies. Beirut’s complex politics mitigate against any peace because most of the groups in the country would have to be on board with the concept, and key players are not. Aoun is a Christian former general who holds the presidency thanks to a deal with Iranian-backed Hezbollah. The presidency is reserved for Christians, but the Christian community, in general, has not been linked in alliance with Hezbollah over the years. Aoun changed all that by dividing the Christian community, which is made up of a diverse plethora of groups including Maronites, Orthodox, Armenians and others. He chose Hezbollah for a variety of reasons, but it illustrates the increasing stranglehold the terrorist group has on Lebanon. As long as Hezbollah remains in Lebanon with its massive terrorist army, there will be no peace with Israel. Hezbollah has only increased in power in recent years. In the 1980s and ’90s, it was a terrorist group posing as an insurgency “resisting” Israel. When Israel left in 2000, it reinvented itself, occupying southern Lebanon as a de facto state within a state. In 2005, when Hezbollah, working with the Syrian regime, allegedly killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri, it appeared to literally get away with murder. This caused a protest movement that ejected Syria from Lebanon. Hezbollah, angry to see its power reduced, launched a war on Israel in 2006. In the wake of that war, it grew in power and occupied Beirut in 2008 clashes. A series of assassinations, perhaps linked to Hezbollah, also killed off men like Pierre Gemayel and Samir Kassir, who were critical of Syria. Since the period between 2006 and 2008, Lebanon has come even more under the grasp of Hezbollah. It traffics missiles from Iran. It seeks to build precision-guided munitions factories. It sent fighters to fight in Syria’s civil war. It conducts Lebanon’s foreign policy. It imports items illegally via the seaport and airport. It stockpiles munitions. No state in the world has a situation involving a group like Hezbollah, with members of parliament and a large extralegal terrorist army running part of the country outside the control of the armed forces. Hezbollah even kept the opposition from obtaining the presidency between 2014 and 2016. FOR ALL these reasons, any peace with Lebanon is impossible. Hezbollah takes orders from Iran, which is the foremost anti-Israel voice in the region besides Turkey. Together, these two countries want to influence Lebanon. The allies of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf who are in Lebanon, which tend to be the Sunni Arab parties, are not strong enough to make peace. The Christians who oppose Aoun, such as the Kataeb Party, already tried a flirtation with Israel in the ’70s and ’80s during the Lebanese Civil War. Fighters for the South Lebanon Army, which aided Israel up until 2000, recall the IDF’s rapid withdrawal and how they had to flee. This bitter experience means they would not likely go this route again. They would prefer more influence from France; they also fear jihadists being empowered by instability. But, like Israel, it is not just those voices – and the rise of Hezbollah and extremist groups, as well as the civil war and the role of the Palestinian groups in Lebanon – that made sure the country could never have peace with the Jewish state. Lebanon has gone from being occupied by Palestinian groups in the ’70s to being occupied by Hezbollah today. Insofar as it may have practical people who could foresee discussions with Israel, those voices will be outranked by the Iranians who work with Hezbollah. In some ways, the irony of Lebanon is that as a country with diversity, clinging to the Mediterranean, it has much in common with Israel. Intellectually and architecturally, it has European influences that in some respects matched the ways and norms of Tel Aviv in the ’20s and ’30s. For Lebanon to achieve peace with Israel, the Iranian regime would have to either accept this logic, or it would have to decline or implode, leaving Hezbollah alone. The Syrian regime would also have to agree to the concept of peace with Israel. As we know, the Syrian regime held intense discussions about a deal with Israel in the ’90s and 2000s. However, the current Syrian regime is embattled and also more under Iran’s influence, making such an attempt more difficult. Bizarrely, Lebanon, which has much in common with Israel in many ways, may be the last country in the region to make peace with its southern, Jewish neighbor. The only thing that might be expected from Lebanon is some US-brokered discussions about delimitation of rights to offshore energy blocs, which is an issue both countries care about.
An international probe into Beirut explosion seems far-fetched/Rami Rayess/Sunday 16 August 2020 A week after the huge Beirut blasts, the Lebanese people have not discovered yet what happened and who was responsible for this atrocity, making an international investigation more necessary than ever. Had this explosion happened in any other state, as a moral step forward, resignation of the civil or military servants directly in charge and the politicians concerned would have been immediate, even before investigations began. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said he was aware of the deadly chemicals stored in the port, but added that he does not have direct authority over the port and that there is a chain of command he was beholden to respect. According to leaked information, now-former Prime Minister Hassan Diab was also aware of the danger of a potential blast at the Beirut port because of the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored there. Diab, however, postponed the removal as he wanted to arrange a media tour that would highlight his success in saving the capital from such an enormous explosion. Local outlet Al- Jadeed TV announced in its Friday night bulletin that Secretary General of the Higher Defense Council General Mahmoud el Asmar convinced him to delay his visit. What happened was quite the opposite. Right after the explosion, reports emerged that there was a container of fireworks that had somehow caught on fire. Later, a senior security official sarcastically said that this was a silly pretext that could not be taken into consideration. Sounds of air jets were heard in several Lebanese areas right before the blast, which meant that the possibility of an Israeli air strike could not be discarded as well. Though, it would later be revealed that the sound was that of the massive explosion. The Higher Defense Council, an umbrella institution that is headed by the president and includes representatives of the various security and military apparatuses, convened in an extraordinary session the same night of the blasts. It established an investigative committee that was given a five-day period to raise its conclusions to the concerned judicial authorities. The period expired last Sunday, August 9. But so far, no one has explained to the public who was on this committee, the extent of its investigations, or the results. In its last meeting before resignation, Diab’s cabinet called for the judicial court to look over the case and the investigation, and try those found responsible. This court is a one-degree court and its rulings cannot be overruled by any means. The court does not have a good reputation, and it rarely reaches conclusive judgments. There are fears that political intervention is possible in this court’s work as the judge who will lead the investigation is proposed by the minister of justice and approved by the Higher Judicial Council. Reasons behind those fears is the necessity of earning political approval for a judicial appointment, a step that does not fully respect the separation of powers. After the council refused the first nominee, a second was approved after fierce debate between the minister and the council. This behavior of consuming time for judicial appointment and the airing of differences between the different branches of government, at a time when Lebanon is in agony, reflects the irresponsibility of the concerned Lebanese officials. People have lost their loved ones, their homes and offices, while officials are negotiating prerogatives pertaining to judicial appointments. A few hours after the blasts, there were political calls from several Lebanese parties for an international investigation that were born out of fear that the Lebanese judiciary was incapable of divorcing itself from political intervention. These calls were automatically and categorically rejected by Hezbollah, who said such an investigation would pave the way for direct foreign intervention in local affairs. Some parliamentarians accused “the minister of justice of pressing to appoint an investigator who could change the course of the investigation,” and said that this is an additional reason why there should by an international investigation, especially given “that there are certain files missing from the concerned official agencies.”Calls for an international investigation triggered a flashback to 2005 when former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated on February 14, and there were attempts to tamper with the crime scene by asphalting the road that was deeply damaged within 48 hours and then continue business as usual. Local calls for an international investigation into the assassination were heard when the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was established. It was supposed to announce its verdict after fifteen years on August 7, but the verdict has now been delayed to August 18 because of the blasts. Far from home, yet so close: Lebanese abroad haunted by Beirut explosion Over the last decade and a half, Hezbollah has turned a blind eye to the tribunal, and it is unclear how the party will react when the verdict is issued. Prior investigations have said that Hezbollah members may have been involved in the assassination. This time, like last time, Hezbollah does not want any investigation into the explosion that might indict the Iran-backed group. Whether the explosion was caused by negligence or another reason, it is questionable how 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate could be stored for seven consecutive years in Beirut’s port, which is adjacent to the city. Was this material for Hezbollah, who has quite an enormous influence on Beirut’s port, airport, and of course the Lebanese-Syrian borders? The party leader has staunchly refused such accusations, but this shall be a matter of investigation if an international committee is ever created. A local investigative body cannot give conclusive answers for the reality of the blasts and how they really happened. By local Lebanese standards, and because of the delicate balance of power, unveiling the truth is not an easy mission. Setting up an international investigative committee is not easy either. Bringing in outside foreign technical expertise to support their Lebanese counterparts could be a more viable solution, but what results this strategy might yield are not yet known. Lebanon has said it will not give way to an international committee, but it would welcome technical support. It has been no coincidence that Aoun, a staunch ally to Hezbollah, was the first senior official to explicitly refuse the calls for an international investigation. French President Emmanual Macron is trying to broker a deal on the political track that would lead to the creation of a new cabinet that would launch the long-awaited reforms. Whether these efforts will be toward the judicial track by convincing the international community and the United Nations Security Council to create an international investigating committee is yet to be examined. Until then, establishing such a committee is still far-fetched.
After the Beirut explosion, Lebanon’s political elite should be forced out Hanin Ghaddar/Sunday 16 August 2020 As soon as US State Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale landed in Beirut on Thursday a week after the deadly port explosion, the Lebanese parliament approved a state of emergency, giving the military curfew power and authorizing it to ban public gatherings. The timing of this declaration, along with a series of other moves, signals the current political elite is unwilling to assume responsibility or accept the street’s demands for a fundamental change in the system. The system, therefore, must be forced out of power. Another sign of this defiance is the rejection of various officials and parties – mainly President Michel Aoun and Hezbollah – of an international investigative committee to look into the explosion that caused destruction to half of Beirut, at least 178 deaths, and left thousands injured. While this explosion pushed Lebanon to the brink, it did not occur in a vacuum. Lebanon has been hurling toward financial and economic collapse for months now as reforms required by the international community to receive financial assistance have not been implemented. But Lebanon does not have the luxury of waiting anymore, and the international community needs to understand that this is probably the last chance to save Lebanon from its corrupt and sectarian political class, and contain Hezbollah’s power and its control over state institutions. Therefore, there should be a coordinated internal and external effort to implement change, using all the available tools that could lead to it. The street demands are very clear: an independent international investigation of the port explosion, an independent government to oversee reforms and early elections with a new, representative electoral law, and the resignation of all political leadership. Instead, the political elite and Hezbollah decided to refuse an international probe, move to form a national unity government that incorporates the same current political leadership, and impose a state of emergency that would crack down on protests. Obviously, this is not going to end well. The resignation of the Hassan Diab government is not enough, and people will no longer accept a scapegoat. They need real accountability and real political transformation. Both the street and the international community have efficient tools, which – if used properly – cold help shape the future of Lebanon. Hezbollah accepted Diab’s resignation fearing that the former prime minister would hold early elections, which he had suggested a few days before resigning. A woman stands inside a damaged restaurant a day after an explosion hit the seaport Early elections – especially if based on a new and representative electoral law – would take away Hezbollah’s control over the state and its institutions. Proper elections would reveal how Hezbollah’s and its allies’ popularity has shrank, and that the Lebanese people have lost their trust in both Hezbollah and its allies. And that’s exactly why both the street and the international community should push for early elections based on a new electoral law. To do that, the next Lebanese government should be an independent government – preferably short-termed – with a clear mission: to overlook elections and reforms. Elections then would produce a new government, a new parliament, and a new president. A national unity government that Hezbollah is working toward is only going to produce the same old system, which Lebanon can no longer afford. How then, can the international community push for such change? One of the main tools is sanctions. It is now time for the United States – also for Europeans, and mainly the French – to impose sanctions on Hezbollah’s allies, particularly the Christian-dominated Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) officials. Former foreign minister and the head of the FPM Gebran Bassil should be at the top of the list, as he is both one of the most corrupt politicians and Hezbollah’s favorite ally and presidential candidate. If such sanctions are imposed, Bassil’s presidential dreams would evaporate and Hezbollah would lose a very important ally, as the Christian street won’t stand behind someone who has no leverage in the West. The French – and many European countries – could also move to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, not only its military wing. Both Hezbollah’s’ military and political wings are responsible for what happened at the port and for the country’s economic meltdown. It is time to realize this reality worldwide. In addition, the security forces – including the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) – should understand that protecting the protesters should be their priority. The US has been providing assistance to the LAF and European countries have been assisting the Internal Security Forces for many years, and this assistance should be used as leverage to pressure the Lebanese security apparatus to protect the victims, not the criminals. Finally, an international investigative committee should be everyone’s priority at this point. And the international community should not allow the truth to be determined by the Lebanese government’s version of the truth. Without the full truth, the country and the people cannot move on.
Business owners suffer blow as Beirut explosion wrecks cafés, galleries, livelihoods Bassam Zaazaa, Al Arabiya English/Sunday 16 August 2020 Rania, standing cleaning the debris and saving undamaged electronic items at her store after Beirut’s enormous explosion, said she “lost everything.” “Today I was asked to evacuate as surveyors have marked the building as unsafe for inhabitation and subject to collapse. There’s nothing I could do … August 4’s explosion took it all,” Gholam Electronics shop manager, Rania Ghantous, said. Ghantous, like many in Beirut, has been left in the dark not knowing, how or who would compensate her for the damages. Unable to estimate her primary losses though her store is insured, the future remains ambiguous and confusing. The electronics shop is one of many businesses located in areas near the Beirut port, where a massive August 4 explosion wiped out swaths of Lebanon’s capital city. Now, with the country in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis before the explosion, many business owners are unsure how they will afford to rebuild. According to Rania, most of the electronic items – new and those under repair – at her shop were destroyed and that she was packing the unharmed items to move them out as she was asked to leave the damaged building soon. “It’s [been] 10 days now. Not a single official checked on us or offered assistance or compensation. They didn’t even offer condolences. It is only those volunteers from the public, who rushed to help us clean and remove the rubble. I have lost everything,” she mumbled bitterly. It remains unclear yet just how many businesses, restaurants, retail outlets and homes were damaged or destroyed in the areas nearby the port. The damage done For one business owner, he estimates his damages to be around $50,000. Born in 1952, Toni Shadarevian manages a workshop and an atelier for Krikor Zohrab’s paintings. Zohrab was an influential Armenian painter and writer who was assassinated in 1915. The workshop and atelier are located opposite the Electricite Du Liban, the state’s large, imposing electricity building that was massively damaged. The shop contains tens of drawings, according to Shadarevian, who said four of Zohrab’s paintings that are worth $10,000 each were damaged. “The ruins remain un-estimated, but definitely it is more than $50,000. We are still cleaning up the mess and don’t have insurance to cover our damages. Pre-explosion, the business was already suffering, like Lebanon’s economic situation. The explosion has added up to our financial losses,” said Shadarevian who confirmed that he could reopen the next day. However, because of the economic situation, there are no clients as no one has money to invest in art, Shadarevian said as he supervised maintenance workers at the shop. “Even the atelier is in total chaos,” he said. He added that the explosion pushed the business into the red, as the two premises and the items inside are uninsured. Down the street, Sip café, once a hip hangout on Gemmayzeh Street, is now gone. The views of the horrific wreckage tell its own story. With its laid back and trendy ambiance, Sip café used to attract packs of loyal coffee-addicts day and night. Aside from the financial and materialistic damages inflicted on the café, the owner, Omar Jheir, fractured his arm in the blast that completely destroyed his nearby home. Estimating the damage as around 70 percent of the actual shop, Jheir said: “Physically there is just the walls that are hanging on … the furniture, machines, façade and glass – everything got damaged.”When asked if he had communicated with insurance companies, he explained that they are still collecting their data and getting quotations to see what the repairs will cost so he can submit the papers to the insurer.Without insurance money, Jheir said he cannot afford to repair the café. A bad situation turns worse Since the October 2019 revolution when Lebanese thronged the street to protest government corruption and a worsening economy, business has slowed for Jheir, who pointed out that Sip was one once of the busiest coffee shops in the neighborhood. “People have less money and are spending less. We were already suffering from October 2019 until the devaluation of the currency started … we were still hanging on. The currency was still equivalent to the dollar but when the devaluation happened, it drained our bank accounts,” he said. Over the past few months, the local currency has been subject to sharp inflation as dollars – needed to pay for imports – have dried up in the country. Jheir said they bought their supplies with a currency that was 80 percent devalued, but they only increased their prices by 25 percent. Media reports cited Beirut’s Governor Judge Marwan Abboud estimated the total losses to reach nearly $15 billion due to the explosion of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that was stored in hangar 12. Health ministry officials have said at least 178 have been killed by the blast, and over 6,000 were injured. Nearly 20 people remain missing while rescue teams continue searching. Government estimates say the blast left some 300,000 homeless. Just 200 meters from the wheat silos that were badly damaged at the port, Nails and Spa was once the business salon in the area. The owner Elias Hayek was busy removing wrecked machines and assisting his staff in cleaning the debris as he spoke to Al Arabia English. “Basically 70 percent of the spa was damaged. All machines that we used are destroyed … I had between 10 and 15 machines, each cost between 20,000 euro and 50,000 euro. Walls and ceilings were destroyed,” Hayek said. “The washrooms and tiles remain safe; meanwhile 15 percent of the products are okay.”Hayek said two of his staff were critically injured, and at the time of writing, one client remained in intensive care. “I have insurance but we have to wait the investigation’s to conclude and see if we will be compensated,” said Hayek, who fears that they might not be compensated if investigations into the explosion determine the cause was a terror attack or an act of war. He said no officials checked on them after the blast. Too risky to reopen When asked if he could reopen soon, Hayek pointed out that his financial loss is beyond description and that the catastrophe has pulled him down to “below-zero-level.”He dismissed the potential of reopening soon. “It will be a major risk to reopen soon because there’s a building that could collapse any moment from the backside of the spa,” he said. Sevag Panosian, owns a factory that manufactures shawarma burners called Vapa Burners in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood that suffered heavy damage. The façade of his factory was destroyed, and the building suffered structural damages as well. “The hydraulic pressers and eccentric presses got badly hurt. I don’t have a rough estimate for our damages but definitely above $15,000. I have insurance, but I am unsure that it will be covered,” Panosian said. Insurance companies hold out Due to Lebanon’s economic situation and compounded banking crisis, Panosian said that he cannot reopen anytime soon. For months, a series of informal and illegal capital controls have reigned over the banks, and people have been unable to access money in their bank accounts. He ridiculed recent bank promotions of zero-interest loans describing them by “virtual money” as everybody wants hard cash due to the crisis. Meanwhile, Al Arabia English contacted a number of insurance company officials, who all said that as long as investigations were underway into the cause of the explosion, nothing can yet be confirmed regarding paying out insurance policies. “We have to wait for the results of the investigation … if it proves to be an accident then each policy holder will be compensated according to the type and/or clauses of their policies,” said a senior partner in an insurance company. He refused to comment further.
Lebanese protesters fight to bring down the system/Mark Mackinon/The Globe & Mail/August 15/2020 Citizens of all religious sects are coming together to demand that the country’s entire political elite – who they blame for allowing the devastating Port of Beirut explosion to happen – step down and face justice. In a previous era, Andrew Hraiz, a Maronite Christian, and his girlfriend Lynn Modallal, a Sunni Muslim, might have been on opposite sides of Lebanon’s political divide. They certainly wouldn’t have been on the same side of the struggle as Bane Fakih, a Shia Muslim who says “half her family” is in Hezbollah. But in the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion that devastated entire neighbourhoods of the city they all call home, all three have joined the same protests, trying to bring down a system – a post-civil war pact that divides power among the country’s three main religious groups – that they blame for allowing the catastrophe to happen. They’re furious at all of those who knew, and did nothing, about the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that sat unattended in a warehouse in the port of Beirut for more than six years before erupting in a mushroom cloud that left at least 172 people dead and made 300,000 homeless. Fingers of blame are pointed at both President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who announced his resignation this week. But the protesters want much deeper change than simply replacing Mr. Diab, or even the more entrenched figure of Mr. Aoun, whose resignation they intend to demand next. They say they want to see Lebanon’s entire political elite stripped of the formal and informal power they and their families have held since a 1990 peace agreement that ended a 15-year civil war by effectively dividing the country up between the same warlords who had torn it apart. The pact has kept a semblance of peace for most of the past three decades in this country, long the field where more powerful, countries – the United States, Syria, Iran and Israel – come to fight their battles. But it’s a peace that has fostered a culture of corruption and impunity that has now overwhelmed the state. The protesters hope to see the end of not only Mr. Aoun and his Christian rival Samir Geagea, but also Sunni leader Saad Hariri, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, and Nabih Berri, the long-serving Shia speaker of parliament. And yes, Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the powerful Hezbollah militia, too. “All of them means all of them,” is one of the most common chants at the near-daily protests – a slogan that captures the protesters’ demand for their entire political elite to stand aside and, ideally, face justice. It’s a revolutionary idea in a country where many older Lebanese identify more with their political leader and their religious affiliation, than by their nationality. “It’s a rebellion against our father figures – and the biggest father figures are Aoun and Nasrallah,” said Mr. Hraiz, a 32-year-old founder of a comedy club that – if not for the coronavirus pandemic – was supposed to be holding a show on Aug. 4 right beside the now-devastated port of Beirut. Sitting beside him at a café in the city’s hard-hit Gemmayzeh district, Ms. Modallal, a 28-year-old art director, said many Lebanese had “a disease” that made them willing to blame the other oligarchs for the country’s problems, but unable to see the faults with their own sectarian leader. “I don’t need a father figure.” Some go further and blame their parents’ generation, those who lived through the civil war, for allowing a cabal of militia bosses to take over the country. “It’s like the civil war happened, and then they collectively decided not to talk about it,” said Ms. Fakih, a 28-year-old film director who was on the front line of some of the fiercest clashes last weekend.
US says no bailout for Lebanon, calls for change/Bassem Mroue and Andrea Rosa, AP/August 15/2020 There can be no financial bailout for Lebanon, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, calling on the country’s political leaders to heed popular calls for change, real reform and an end to endemic corruption. David Hale, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, said the U.S. and its allies will respond to “systemic reforms with sustained financial support.” He also called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the Aug. 4 blast that killed nearly 180 people and wounded thousands. He said an FBI team is arriving this weekend to take part in the probe at the invitation of Lebanese authorities. Hale arrived in Beirut on Thursday, where he met with volunteers helping out at the site of the blast, as well as the country’s top political and religious leadership. “America calls on Lebanon’s political leaders to finally respond to the people’s longstanding and legitimate demands and create a credible plan – accepted by the Lebanese people – for good governance, sound economic and financial reform, and an end to the endemic corruption that has stifled Lebanon’s tremendous potential,” he said. “But as the dozens of young activists and volunteers I met so bluntly demanded, there can be no bailout,” Hale said in a recorded message posted on the U.S. Embassy website Saturday. Hale’s comments were in line with Washington’s message before the visit. But he didn’t detail whether the U.S. and Western allies are ready to support a government in which Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group has clout. After visiting the site of the blast, Hale called for the state to exercise control over its borders and ports, in a clear reference to claims Hezbollah group controls them. “We can never go back to an era in which anything goes at the port or borders of Lebanon,” Hale said. Washington and its allies consider the Iran-backed group Hezbollah a terrorist organization, and have accused it of abusing government funds and undermining state authority. There was speculation in the local media that Hale would be pushing for a government that excludes the group. In a clear message, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said his group is pushing for a national unity government that has wide political representation and backing. Seeking a “neutral government,” he said, would be “a waste of time.” Popular anger has been building up in Lebanon against the ruling elite’s corruption, mismanagement and political uncertainty many blame for pushing the country toward bankruptcy and poverty. The blast only increased the public’s rage. The cause of the fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate at Beirut’s port remains unclear. Documents have emerged showing the country’s top leadership and security officials were aware of the chemicals stored at the port. Many Lebanese are calling for an independent international probe, saying they don’t trust the long-entrenched political factions to allow any results to come to light that are damaging to their leadership. Under pressure, Lebanon’s government resigned Aug. 10 and is serving in a caretaker capacity. So far, there are no formal consultations underway on who will replace Hassan Diab as prime minister and no likely candidate has emerged. But the flurry of diplomatic visits appeared designed to influence the forming of the new government. Western leaders have said they will send aid directly to the Lebanese people and that billions of dollars will not be pumped into the country before major reforms take place. Hale said the United States has so far donated $18 million to the Lebanese people in terms of food and other essential and is preparing to work with Congress for an additional $30 million to ensure the flow of grains after the capital’s silos were destroyed in the blast. The aid, he said, will be handled directly by the World Food Program.“This is a moment for Lebanon to define a Lebanese — not a foreign — vision of Lebanon,” Hale said. “What kind of Lebanon do you have and what kind of Lebanon do you want? Only Lebanese can answer that question.”Coinciding with Hale’s visit was that of the Iranian Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif who said Western nations are exploiting Lebanon’s disaster to push their political dictates. Iran is Hezbollah’s main foreign backer and has provided the group with financial and technical support throughout the years. On Friday, the United Nations launched a $565 million appeal for Lebanon with immediate humanitarian assistance and initial recovery efforts. Last week, international donors pledged nearly $300 million of emergency assistance to Lebanon. Najat Rochdi, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, called for more funds to cover the critical needs of shelter, food, health and education. Rochdi said most donors have asked that aid be channeled through the U.N., which she said would be coordinated with Lebanon’s armed forces to ensure access. “We will be very strict about the use of humanitarian assistance. We will be monitoring closely every single delivery of our humanitarian assistance,” she said. “We will be accountable not only to donors because our accountability goes also to the affected population.”Also on Saturday, families and friends buried Ralph Malahi, a 23-year old firefighter who was among 10 firefighters killed in the explosion. Malahi was given a hero’s funeral in Beirut. Lifting Malahi’s coffin, thousands paraded through different parts of the city, firing weapons into the air in commemoration. Malahi is the seventh firefighter to be retrieved from under the debris in the port at the scene of the blast. Three remain missing. Malahi’s mother, weeping, blamed the government for her son’s death. “Why did you not evacuate the port?” she said, in reference to the government’s knowledge that highly explosive material was stored at the port. *Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
U.S. calls for credible probe into ‘overwhelming’ Beirut blast/Michael Georgy and Tom Perry/Reuters/August 15/2020 The United States called on Saturday for a transparent and credible investigation into the massive port blast in Beirut and said the country would only get financial support when Lebanese leaders commit to reforms. The Aug. 4 blast, which the authorities say was caused by more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been unsafely stored at the port for years, killed 178 people, injured 6,000 and left 300,000 homeless. “We can never go back to an era in which anything goes at the port or the borders of Lebanon that had to contribute to this situation,” said David Hale, U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, after visiting the port. He added that FBI agents would be arriving this weekend, at the invitation of Lebanon, to help investigate what led to the explosion. The blast has fuelled anger at Lebanon’s ruling politicians who were already facing criticism over a financial meltdown that has sunk the currency, demolished the value of savings and left depositors unable to withdraw their money. “When we see Lebanese leaders committed to real change, change in word and deed, America and its international partners will respond to systemic reforms with sustained financial support,” Hale said. “The popular demand for real change could not be clearer.”President Michel Aoun has said a probe will look into whether the cause of the blast was negligence, an accident or “external interference”. “They won’t do a thing in an investigation and the whole world knows that,” said painter Mohammed Khodr, as he helped repair a restaurant damaged in the blast. The heavily armed, Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States, said on Friday it would wait for results of the official Lebanese investigation into the blast. But if it turns out to be an act of sabotage by neighbouring Israel then it would “pay an equal price”, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address. Israel has denied any role in the explosion. Nasrallah said his group was against an international investigation because its first purpose would be to “distance Israel from any responsibility for this explosion, if it had responsibility”. He said the participation of the FBI in an investigation would serve the same purpose. POLITICAL VACUUM The explosion has pitched Lebanon into a new political vacuum since the resignation of the government, which had formed in January with backing of Hezbollah and its allies, including Aoun. Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric said the Lebanese people had run out of patience with ruling politicians. In his strongest intervention since the blast, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said the church reserved the right to veto any proposals that further jeopardise Lebanon. The Maronite church exercises political sway in a country where the head of state must be a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shi’ite Muslim. The United Nations launched a $565 million aid appeal on Friday. Priorities included stabilising the grain supply, U.N. humanitarian coordinator Najat Rochdi said on Saturday, after the explosion destroyed Lebanon’s only port-based grain silo. Hale said the U.S. administration had donated $18 million in relief since the blast and was prepared to work with Congress to pledge up to $30 million in additional funds to enable the flow of grain through the Port of Beirut on an urgent, interim basis. (Additional reporting by Issam Abdallah; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Frances Kerry, Ros Russell and Alison Williams)
UN Launches $565 mn Appeal for Beirut Blast Victims/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 15 August, 2020 The United Nations has launched an appeal to raise $565 million to help the Lebanese people affected by the August 4 Beirut Port blast recover. The UN said in a statement Friday that the funds would be used to support Lebanon as it moves from immediate life-saving humanitarian relief towards rebuilding its shattered economy. The explosion, which killed 172 people, flattened neighborhoods surrounding the port, leaving thousands homeless, damaged dozens of hospitals and clinics and destroyed more than 100 schools. It also wounded at least 6,500 residents. The explosion was caused by a huge stock of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse, and was widely blamed on state corruption. “The task of rebuilding people’s lives and recovering from the devastation is only just beginning,” said Najat Rochdi, a UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon. “I urge the international community to demonstrate their steadfast commitment to the people of Lebanon and repay in turn Lebanon’s incredible generosity to Syrian and Palestine refugees with full financial support for this appeal,” she added. The UN said its appeal money would target improving food security, help the rebuilding of damaged hospitals and schools and provide cash for shelter for families whose homes were rendered uninhabitable. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the money will enable the UN’s humanitarian partners “to help people in need by targeting food security, health, shelter and protection, as well as water and sanitation hygiene support.”The UN humanitarian office said the appeal will target: —Immediate delivery of hot meals, food rations and grain supplies. —Rehabilitation of damaged health facilities and provision of trauma kits and essential medicines. —Cash for shelter for families whose homes were damaged or destroyed and for repairs of common building areas and facilities affected by the blast. —Repair of schools and provision of educational supplies and psychological support for children.’
Families of Beirut Blast Victims Plead for Outside Inquiry/Associated Press/Naharnet/August 14/2020 Lebanon’s judicial investigation of the Beirut port explosion started with political wrangling over the naming of a lead investigator, military threats to jail leakers and doubts over whether a panel appointed along sectarian lines could be fully impartial. So for many Lebanese, their greatest hope for credible answers about the blast that wrecked much of their capital may lie with outsiders. Families of the dead and survivors on Friday asked the U.N. Security Council for an international investigation. Others pin their hopes on the French forensic police who have joined the probe and FBI investigators are expected to take part. “We are not lawyers or politicians, we are families and people, our appeal today is to the people of the international community,” said Paul Najjar, a survivor of the explosion. “Is it acceptable today that people would find their homes shattered, their families killed, their hopes and their dreams killed as well, with no justice, in all impunity?” French teams have pressed ahead at their work, sending divers into the underwater crater, taking explosives samples and preparing recommendations for both French and Lebanese magistrates. Among the French judicial police on the case are men and women who responded after the 2004 tsunami in Japan, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the November 2015 and Bastille Day 2016 terror attacks in France. The Beirut explosion lies at the crossroads of a disastrous accident and a crime scene. It still was not known what sparked the fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that were stored for years in Beirut’s port next to densely populated residential areas. Documents have emerged that show the country’s top leadership and security officials were aware of the stockpile. Search and rescue crews flew in from around the world in the immediate aftermath and found themselves looking at a scene that was both familiar and yet strangely alien. “In an earthquake, it’s easier because we can understand … how it moves. But in this case, we didn’t have enough elements to understand what happened,” said Alberto Boanini, a member of the Italian rescue team. The team has seen its share of quakes and forest fires, but nothing quite like the port in Beirut, where he said it was hard to fathom what could level it so completely. Many Lebanese want the probe taken out of the hands of their own government, having learned from past experience that the long-entrenched political factions, notorious for corruption, won’t allow any results damaging to their leadership to come to light. The explosion killed more than 175 people, injured at least 6,000 and left tens of thousands homeless. Paris sent judicial police because a French architect was among the dead, and French law gives jurisdiction for an investigation if a citizen dies abroad under questionable circumstances. But the French investigators work only at the invitation of the Lebanese, and their orders are confidential. French officials say they have the access they need but will not say whether their inquiry extends to questioning witnesses or requesting documents. They hand over their findings to the Lebanese, but keep a mirror copy for a French inquiry. The FBI is also joining at Lebanese authorities’ invitation. Top Lebanese officials, including President Michel Aoun, have rejected calls for an independent probe, describing it as “a waste of time” and suggesting it would be politicized. Nonetheless, Nada Abdelsater-Abusamra, a lawyer representing victims, said a letter was submitted to the U.N. Security Council asking for an international investigation. In its last decision before resigning under pressure, six days after the explosion, Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government referred the port explosion case to the Higher Judicial Council, Lebanon’s highest justice authority, to carry out the investigation. An argument then ensued with the outgoing justice minister over the investigation’s lead judge. After public wrangling, they compromised on Judge Fadi Sawwan, a former military investigating judge. The Council itself is made up of 10 people, eight of whom are appointed according to the interests of the various political factions and religious sects in line with Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system. The authorities have so far arrested at least 19 people, including the head of the Customs Department and his predecessor, as well as the head of the port. Lebanese say they want to see investigations into top officials who knew about the ammonium nitrate. “They will blame the small guys while the ones who are really responsible will get away with their crime, that’s what will happen,” said Jad, a 38-year-old computer engineer who declined to give his full name in line with his company’s regulations not to discuss politics. “If this time there is no credible, serious investigation that will lead to the punishment of everyone responsible for this disaster, it is goodbye Lebanon. No one will ever want to live in this country again,” he said, standing on a bridge overlooking the decimated port. Lebanese forensics expert Omar Nachabe said the public infighting about the name of the lead investigator is a bad sign that casts doubt on the credibility of any local investigation. “If I am a Lebanese citizen, my capital (city) has been destroyed. I want a quick and serious investigation, yet the government has not shown until now that it is up to the task,” he told the local channel LBCI. Explosions have marked a grim timeline in Lebanon’s modern history and have killed presidents, prime ministers and countless journalists and activists during the country’s 1975-90 civil war and beyond. Almost none of the perpetrators were ever arrested or tried, and the truth was invariably buried. Lebanese had high hopes that the U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 killing of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri would be a chance to end impunity in Lebanon. But it took 15 years and was marred by doubts, politics and more deaths. The tribunal is to issue verdicts Tuesday. International involvement in the investigation might bring some truth, but bringing justice is more complicated. Dov Jacobs, an international legal scholar based in the Netherlands, said the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine six years ago might be the closest analogy. In that case, international experts had full access to the site, and international prosecutors charged three Russians and a Ukrainian with involvement in bringing down the plane and the murder of all on board. The men are on trial in a Dutch court in absentia, since none have been extradited. But in Lebanon, Jacobs said, “the investigation itself is a tool of political influence. It’s one of those frustrating moments where immediate calls for justice are faced with a wall which is the political reality on the ground.”
Hariri, a strong PM option in Lebanon, awaits US-Saudi green light/The Arab Weekly/August 14/2020 France is spearheading the international efforts to form the new Lebanese government. In the past few hours, consultations in Beirut for the formation of a new government in replacement of Hassan Diab’s government have intensified. Diab and his cabinet resigned last Monday under angry street pressure following the catastrophic blast of August 4 at Beirut port which has resulted so far in the deaths of 171 people and wounding about 6,000 as well as causing great damage to buildings. Among the new candidates for the premiership, the name of former prime minister, Saad Hariri, is emerging as a strong possibility, after the Shia duo, Hezbollah and Amal Movement, refused the candidacy of former ambassador and head of the International Court of Justice Nawaf Salam. Political circles, however, say that Hariri’s acceptance of the premiership this time will depend on his obtaining an American-Saudi green light, because the leader of the Future Movement will not risk what remains of his political and popular assets without first ensuring Arab and international support. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, during a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, on Wednesday, expressed his country’s support for the formation of a new Lebanese government that enjoys favourable external conditions. Hariri had previously assumed the premiership in 2016 based on a deal he had concluded with the Free Patriotic Movement and the Amal Movement, with Hezbollah’s blessing. That did not sit well with the power circles in the US and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as they viewed that deal as a victory for Iran-backed Hezbollah, which they classified as a terrorist organization. Among the results of that deal was the erosion of Arab and international support for Lebanon at a time when the country was witnessing an economic and financial collapse that reached its climax with the outbreak of an unprecedented wave of protests in October 2019, calling for the departure of the entire political class from power. Hariri found himself forced to resign a few days after the outbreak of the protests. It is clear that Hariri is about to embark on a tour of Western countries, according to sources close to the Future Movement. He seems to have has learned his lesson from his previous experience and will not accept taking on the heavy task of the Lebanese premiership without first ensuring international and Arab support. Observers believe that the catastrophic Beirut explosion has completely turned the Lebanese political context upside down, as everything seems to indicate the existence of an urgent international and Arab desire to have a new government in place in Lebanon as soon as possible in order to avoid the total collapse of the country, and also to buy more time in light of information talking about behind-the-scenes negotiations between regional and international powers for new major arrangements that extend beyond Lebanon. Observers point out that Hariri remains the most realistic option for the premiership, given his reserves of popularity despite the many blows he has received over the past years, in addition to his being a non-confrontational figure at home, and most importantly, the good degree of confidence of the international community he still enjoys. France is spearheading the international efforts to form the new Lebanese government. Not only it is currently trying very hard to reduce the disparities between the political forces in Lebanon, but also is moving on the Iranian front to convince Tehran to stay away from Lebanon, arguing that it was Iran’s interference in Lebanese affairs through its arm, Hezbollah, that was the main reason for the international community’s reluctance to support Lebanon in its economic crisis, now worsened by the blast in Beirut port. Observers say that the French move cannot be read as being isolated from coordination with the US and even seems to be blessed by the Americans. They believe that the visit of the US Undersecretary of State David Hale to Beirut on Thursday comes in the context of these efforts, although this visit must not have been without bringing conditions that Hezbollah clearly needs to heed. Clear warnings On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron had a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, during which the former warned against continuing foreign interference in Lebanon’s affairs. According to a statement issued by the French presidency, Macron reminded his interlocutor of “the necessity for all concerned forces to avoid any escalation of tension as well as any external interference, and to support the formation of a government whose mission is to manage the emergency (crisis).” This call was followed by another one to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which dealt with the Lebanese issue and the need to move to support efforts to form a government in this country, while working to distance it from regional conflicts. It seemed that Macron’s goal in contacting Putin was to secure Moscow’s assistance in efforts to convince Tehran to spare Lebanon further shocks by curbing its interference in its internal affairs. Russian ambassador to Beirut Alexander Zaspki had previously stated that his country supports the formation of a national unity government headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, according to the usual criteria. Observers however believe that the success of all these efforts exerted to form a new government in Lebanon remains contingent on Hezbollah’s response, which now seems to be holding the fate of the country in its hands, either save it or cause its complete collapse. The head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, acknowledged on Wednesday that there was unprecedented international pressure to form a new government in Lebanon. He, however, did not conceal his reservations about this step, as he prefers to proceed with early parliamentary elections in the hope of overturning the current balance of power in favour of his own political line. “There is a government in the process of being formed, and we are doing everything we can to make it an independent one, not like its predecessor,” Geagea said in a press conference. He also underscored that there was “tremendous international pressure that we have never felt before.” When asked about the possibility of endorsing Hariri’s candidacy for the premiership, Geagea said “We are with a completely new government that is completely independent and completely neutral.” He pointed out that “after the resignation of the government, both the Future Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party were reluctant to submit their resignations from Parliament, leaving the Lebanese Forces alone as usual.” Geagea wished, “especially for the Phalanges Party, and I contacted Sheikh Samy Gemayel for that, that they back down on their resignations before submitting them to the Parliament, because we can influence (the course of events) from within the Parliament at this stage.”Last Monday, Geagea announced that a major development would be announced within hours, in reference to the collective resignations of the Lebanese Forces, the Future Movement and the Progressive Socialist from the House of Representatives in preparation for early parliamentary elections. However, this announcement remained pending after Hariri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt backed out from taking that route.
Lebanon’s young hit the streets to help city battered by explosion/Aya Iskandarani/The National/August 14/2020 Thousands of people have descended to clean the capital of debris and to provide food relief to those going hungry. With a broomstick in one hand and a large bag of food in the other, Canadian-Lebanese student Jude Hamze heads out every afternoon to provide relief to the hungry and sweep debris from what was once the liveliest of Beirut’s neighbourhoods. The 19-year-old is one of thousands of young Lebanese who volunteer daily in the wake of the blast that struck the Lebanese capital last week. The nation’s government, which stepped down on Monday, failed to deploy an adequate response to the crisis, leaving Beirut to rely on foreign aid and local volunteers. The devastation wrought by the explosion has triggered a civic call to action, with residents rushing to clean up the wreckage of their city. “I saw photographs of Beirut on social media, and they scarred me,” Ms Hamze told The National. “This was not the Beirut I know. I wanted to fight for the city I love and bring it back to life.” On the day of the blast, she went down to the district of Mar Mikhael with her family and posted an Instagram story with their location. More friends began to arrive with brooms and food. “We spent six hours cleaning the streets,” she said. Ms Hamze, who studies architecture in Paris, is due to leave later this month, to commence the new school year. “It saddens me to have to see this unfold from afar, helpless,” she said. “At the same time, I feel lucky to be able to have a good education abroad and maybe come back in the future to help more people.” Like every summer, thousands of Lebanese expatriates and students studying abroad came back to Lebanon this year, despite coronavirus-related restrictions, only to witness the carnage of August 4. A hangar containing 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate caught fire and exploded at 6.07pm, leaving at least 177 people dead and thousands injured. The chemical, used in the manufacture of fertilisers and explosives, was stored unsafely for six years after having been offloaded from a Russian-owned ship that had docked in Beirut, and needed repairs. High-level Lebanese officials, including President Michel Aoun, admitted to having known that its hazardous cargo had been stored at the port. Yasmine Husseini, 19, donated blood to the wounded in the hours after the blast and has been volunteering every day since the incident. “It was my patriotic duty,” she said. The London-based law student said that volunteering is akin to collective therapy. “The only thing that can console you is seeing people help each other.” Prior to the blast, the Lebanese-American had been studying for her exams, which take place in two weeks. She explained that she felt isolated and homesick when nationwide protests against sectarianism, corruption and dire living conditions spread across Lebanon last October. “I am so glad I was in Lebanon to help this time around. I am cleaning every day now, I cannot think about anything else,” she said. An investigation into the cause of the blast was due to present its findings within five days. More than a week later, its results have yet to be published. Lebanese people have taken to the streets since Saturday to demand that the political class step down and those responsible for the blast be prosecuted. Ms Husseini believes that protesting and volunteering are two sides of the same coin. “Even donating to charity is part of the fight against the political class. It means we do not trust the government to do its job,” she said. She said her experience in London had opened her eyes about the extent to which Lebanese are stripped of basic rights. “Growing up, my parents used to laugh every time they heard the words ‘the government’. As a child, I used to think it was normal to pay for your education, and not have 24/7 access to electricity.” Power and water cuts have been frequent in Lebanon since the end of its 15-year civil war in 1990. For the past couple of months, electricity blackouts have increased to at least 20 hours a day in Beirut. Rasha Hamade, 19, also volunteered in Mar Mikhael and in the district of Karantina. “Strangers would walk up to me and say, ‘Thank you.’ They see the brooms and know we are here to help. Meanwhile, the municipality has been absent and the army has only been sent to repress protesters.” The French-Lebanese film student has now gone back to Montreal. Lebanon has a diaspora estimated at around 15 million people, more than double the size of its population. Sluggish economic growth and widespread corruption and nepotism have pushed young Lebanese to study and seek employment abroad for many years. Since September 2019, the nation has been battered by an unprecedented financial crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic and the blast have only exacerbated its problems. Ms Hamade says she wants to help rebuild Beirut after her studies. “It’s part of being Lebanese. You don’t know if you will ever be able to live in your own country one day. But I still have unconditional love for Beirut,” she said.
Families of Beirut blast victims demand UN Security Council probe into ‘massacre’ Najia HoussariArab News/August 14/2020 BEIRUT: Families of the Beirut blast victims have demanded an international probe into the “massacre,” with an FBI team set to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday to join the investigation. At least 170 people were killed and thousands were wounded following the explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse at the Port of Beirut on Aug. 4. It destroyed vast swathes of the capital, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and stoking anger about authorities’ negligence and corruption. Lebanon’s government under Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned earlier this week following days of demonstrations demanding accountability for the disaster. Lawyer Nada Abdelsater said on behalf of the victims’ families: “The victims’ families do not trust the security and political system in Lebanon and believe it to be the suspect even if it was not the only one involved in this massacre.” She said that the only legal way for an international investigation – and international prosecution – to take place was for the UN Security Council to send an investigative and fact-finding committee to Lebanon before the crime scene was further compromised. “After that, international prosecution takes place either by referring this crime against humanity to the International Criminal Court or by establishing a special court to look into this crime.” She read out a demand signed by thousands of affected families. It was addressed to all UN Security Council member states and she said that copies had been sent through these countries’ ambassadors to Lebanon. Foreign dignitaries continue to flock to Lebanon following the tragedy. US Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale met Lebanese officials on the second day of his visit to Beirut. He will meet political, spiritual, and civil society figures on Saturday. His trip coincides with that of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who arrived in Beirut on Thursday evening. But Zarif did not go to the areas devastated by the explosion, despite his visit being billed as an expression of solidarity with Lebanon during its time of need. The first to visit Beirut after the explosion was from French President Emmanuel Macron, followed by Hale and French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly. They were welcomed by the Lebanese, who requested their help to rescue Lebanon. Zarif visited President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Diab, and caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Charbel Wehbe. It was reported that Iran sent a field hospital to Lebanon. But it was placed on the campus of the Lebanese University in Hadath in the southern suburbs of Beirut, far from the site of the explosion and those directly affected by it. According to the media office of Baabda Palace, Hale said at his meeting with Aoun that President Donald Trump’s directives were that the US be present to help Lebanon. Hale said that his country would not intervene in Lebanon’s internal affairs, but that it would cooperate with Lebanese authorities, as well as friends and allies in the region, to help Lebanon and its people. He stressed that the Lebanese people must be listened to and their aspirations must be fulfilled. He also highlighted the importance of achieving reforms in Lebanon and proceeding with the fight against corruption, as this path would open the door to funding from the Cedar (CEDRE) Conference and cooperation with the IMF “because this is what Lebanon needs now.” Aoun told Hale that the investigation into the explosion would continue, and what was required was help in learning the circumstances surrounding the arrival of the ship that was carrying the deadly ammonium nitrate. He welcomed the arrival of the FBI team and said a number of port officials were under investigation. He said that the first task of the new government was to achieve reforms, fight corruption and follow up on a crime audit decided by the Cabinet. Parly, after her meeting with Aoun, said that France was and would remain by Lebanon’s side. She announced that Macron had ordered the opening of an air route between Lebanon and France to provide aid. She also conveyed Macron’s message to Aoun and said that her country had provided much aid and would provide more, especially in terms of equipment that helped to remove rubble, complete relief work, and survey the damage. She said that 750 French soldiers would participate in these tasks and “this is evidence of France’s standing with the Lebanese people.” French experts were assisting in the ongoing investigation, she added, and this involvement was in conjunction with sending food and building equipment. “You can rely on France,” she said, emphasizing that Macron had pledged during his Beirut trip to put all of its resources at Lebanon’s disposal. Parly hoped that there would soon be a new government in order to proceed with the reforms the international community deemed necessary. She said that Macron would return to Lebanon on Sept. 1 to complete the dialogue he had initiated with Lebanese officials and leaders, and to learn about repairs to devastated areas. But Zarif criticized the French initiative to facilitate the formation of a new Lebanese government. “Lebanon’s government and people are the only ones to decide on the government, and no one should exploit the circumstances to dictate to Lebanon what to do,” he said. “I believe it is not humane to take advantage of this tragic situation to dictate to Lebanon what to do.”
Despair and Anger in the City’s Skies Elias Harfoush/Asharq Al Awsat/August 14/2020 Beirut does not deserve the disaster that hit it. At one point in time, the city used to sparkle; its fate was decided by politicians who knew its worth and the weight of the responsibility placed on their shoulders to protect the capital and the country. No. Neither Beirut nor Lebanon were like this. Men in positions of leadership deserved to be there. They were not enticed by the positions they could attain by allying with anyone who held influence or carried arms. These men ran the Lebanese state, without their only “merit” being their role in a civil war that cost no less than 150,000 lives, injured and handicapped hundreds of thousands and destroyed cities and villages. These “heroes” of the war share the blame for the situation Lebanon is in today. They wiped out the country during the war and continued this mission in peacetime. Their approach to governance is akin to that of leaders of gangs and militias, namely, sharing booty; they promote their beneficiaries and clients and heighten sectarian sentiments and tensions whenever a different approach gains steam. For their existence depends on exploiting these toxins that have made it impossible to establish a state in which citizens are equal and civil servants are promoted based on merit, not their loyalty to this or that leader. The explosion at the port, despite its grave magnitude, is not the only calamity that has befallen Lebanon. The state has been running its affairs recklessly before this recklessness came to characterize political and military decisions and its foreign relations. Here, too, temptation and personal benefit played a role, and the party that runs Lebanon has turned into a tool in the hands of an armed force that operates outside of the state’s jurisdiction. Hezbollah’s power and the famous “understanding” between it and the ruling party have replaced the state’s constitution and laws. The share of the blame for the explosion is not restricted to those directly responsible. It is an example of what goes on in all state agencies. It was caused by an accumulation of negligence and cronyism, bribes and middlemen, a complete absence of accountability and the paralysis of oversight bodies that have been stacked with loyal sycophants. The judiciary has also been paralyzed by politicians’ interference with its prerogatives. What could all of this have led to but the state’s collapse, bankruptcy and inability to manage its affairs? The explosion of tons of ammonium nitrate is thus a lethal declaration of the state’s calamitous failure and negligence. Ten days have gone by since the port disaster, and the so-called state in Lebanon is still searching for the official who let the huge amount of ammonium nitrate lay on hangars for seven years. Hassan Diab’s government had promised us, before it resigned, that we would know who was responsible within five days. Ten days after the disaster, no results – to convince the families of the victims that those responsible will be held accountable – have been announced. No one knows who runs the state or how prerogatives and responsibilities are divided. The president, the commander in chief of the armed forces, the “strong president”, with his party, son-in-law and the ally who brought him to his position behind him, is warned about the chemical that “could blow-up the city” and does not find the time to do anything; “the hierarchy” prevents him from interfering with the port. The hierarchy-adoring head of state had been tasked with presiding over a transitional government to prepare for presidential elections. He understood from this that he had been appointed president. He acted on this assumption and dissolved parliament. He ordered the army to bombard “hostile” areas. He ignited wars as he pleased. When his current allies drove him out of the Baabda Palace, he left defeated, looking for someone to provide him refuge. President Michel Aoun is, of course, not the only one responsible for the disaster that struck Lebanon, killing nearly two hundred people, injuring thousands, destroying homes and displacing more than 300,000 residents. But he is the President of the Republic who vowed to preserve the country, protect its people and establish the rule of law. When a crime of this magnitude occurred, however, the president went looking for a scapegoat. He demanded tapes that show “the missiles that bombed the port” and then expressed reservations about an international investigation, based on the pretext that he wants “swift justice”. Given all of this, Lebanese citizens are justified in asking about the purpose of wasting time with such absurd questions, while those responsible for the negligence, directly or indirectly, are known, and they knew the extent of the damage that could be caused by the material they buried, and they did nothing. I say this because the persistent negligence and irresponsibility that characterize the so-called Lebanese state and those who run it makes the occurrence of disasters inevitable, if not in the port of Beirut, then in other public facilities. Of course, this time, the extent of the damage was immense because the explosion of the type of material that had been stored leads to disaster. However, this neglect characterizes every ministry and institution. It is behind the financial collapse, a result of the absence of oversight over financial transactions and banking operations. It is behind the persistence of the electricity crisis though half of the public debt accumulated over the years was spent on it, while no one knows the justification for spending all this money on such poor provision. The same can be of other public services and infrastructural projects in a country whose service standards are now classified among the lowest of the low. The country is now paying the price for its economic collapse and its isolation, caused by the persistent silence about Hezbollah’s role in the region’s crises on the part of the ruling elite and this role’s implications for Lebanon’s political and economic interests, while none of the beneficiaries of Hezbollah’s protection dare to speak out against the duality in national decision making, which has no parallels in any other independent country. The explosion at the port has opened the door to a debate in Lebanon over how to solve the crisis and deal with its damages, and, most importantly, how to avoid another similar disaster. But it is those who are looking who created the current disasters. This means that the country is still turning in a vicious circle which will end where it had begun, namely, with the same officials returning to the same positions. Put simply: in their presence, there is no hope for any solution.
Can Macron set Lebanon on a path to a brighter future?/Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri/Arab News/August 15/ 2020 Over the past week, many of us have been glued to television screens and social media sites as we followed the tragic events in Lebanon. What has happened is a genuine disaster for what was a beautiful country. We saw the widespread destruction caused by the explosion in Beirut’s port area, accompanied by many analyses of what happened and speculation about whether it was deliberate or accidental, the result of internal or external forces, and who bears the ultimate responsibility. It is not difficult for an experienced observer who is knowledgeable about Lebanese affairs to answer all these questions. Nor would such an observer be surprised by what has happened in the country. The real problem for Lebanon is that it is not really a state; rather, it is an identity. Its name represents its people, and the true problem facing this small country is those who govern it from the shadows. It is not a question of who lives in the presidential palace or occupies the prime minister’s office. After a 15-year civil war, Lebanon found nobody willing to help it other than its Arab brothers. We are all aware of the role played by Saudi Arabia in brokering the Taif Agreement, which ended some of the suffering. At the same time, however, international and regional powers took action that undermined the stability of the country. One of the most powerful was Iran. It pushed its sectarian agenda in full view of everyone, allowing it to spread on Lebanese soil and control the country. Despite the control exerted by Tehran’s proxy — Hezbollah — in Lebanon, the Kingdom did not desert the Lebanese people, most of whom are opposed to this terrorist militia. By virtue of its position in the Arab world, the Kingdom provided support to Lebanon. One of its most important, ambitious and brilliant projects to aid Lebanon was envisioned by former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. He would have guided Lebanon economically and played a very positive political role within the Arab world. Tehran, however, could not bear that or allow it to happen, nor could its proxy or the Syrians at the time. Hariri was assassinated in 2005, with Iran and its loyalists openly declaring that no one else would be permitted to have influence in Lebanon. In addition to signaling the end of a dream of statehood, his murder also marked the start of the establishment of a revolutionary militia. Its actions in all aspects of the state led to the Lebanese people taking to the streets after the assassination of Hariri to protest against Syria, in an attempt to limit its influence in Lebanon at that time. The militia, nonetheless, succeeded in establishing control over Lebanon. Since then, the country has lost its state and its identity, and the militia has been influential in domestic and international political decisions. It also controls the entrances and exits to Lebanon, whether by air, sea or land. Not just that, the Lebanese security forces and the army have no right to know what the terrorist militia is doing. As a result of all these problems, Lebanon has endured many economic and political crises. There have been internal and external disputes, and even interventions by the terrorist militia in the affairs of other countries of the Gulf and Arab regions. The militia has the support of other terrorist organizations. The militia also interfered in the Syrian crisis to prove that it is ready to fight and defend itself, on behalf of Iran, inside and outside of Lebanon, and by doing so ensured that Lebanon remains in turmoil and cannot become a proper state. What is new, and what might change the equation to transform Lebanon from a sectarian Iranian puppet to a genuine state, is the visit by French President Emmanuel Macron shortly after the Beirut explosion. He was welcomed by the Lebanese people he met, and his visit is evidence of France’s warm feelings about Lebanon and the strength of its influence in the country. Macron also met Lebanese officials and told them he will return within a month to see if there have been any meaningful reforms. In addition, he spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. These are all good signs that point in the right direction. There is no point naming a new prime minister without tackling the root of the problem — which is Hezbollah. The important thing now is not the return of well-known names; if Rafik Hariri himself returned, nothing would change and he would again be assassinated. The solution is to dismantle the militia and for it to hand over its weapons: Nothing else. Tehran is responsible for the devastation and destruction in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria. The solution is to curb the disruptive activities of Iran, dismantle its terrorist militias and renew the UN arms embargo. The Beirut explosion has delayed the announcement of the results of an official investigation into Hariri’s death. This simply gives Iran and its militia more time to negotiate and seek advantageous compromises. All eyes are on France and Macron. Will he choose Lebanon, the state, or Iran’s sectarian militia? Lebanon and its people, as well as the wider region, will no longer tolerate the status quo. Along with Yemen, Syria and Iraq, Lebanon represents one of the four models in our Arab countries. Without deliverance from the terrorist militias affiliated with Iran that operate within their borders, they will never be real states and will have no stability and no democracy. Tehran is responsible for the devastation and destruction in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, where the atrocities are constant and numerous. The solution to the region’s problems is to curb the disruptive activities of Iran, dismantle its terrorist militias and renew the UN arms embargo. *Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri is a political analyst and international relations scholar. Twitter: @DrHamsheri
What’s next after the resignation of Lebanon’s government?/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/August 14/2020 BEIRUT–It took six days for the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab to acknowledge defeat and step down following the August 4 seismic blast that shattered Beirut and sent angry crowds back to the streets to demand regime change and the departure of a ruling class accused of corruption and incompetence. The move followed days of violent anti-government protests over the explosion of some 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored insecurely at Beirut port since 2014. At least 160 people were killed, 6,000 injured and part of the city and the port pulverised. Political analysts agree that despite attempts to float it by its staunchest supporters, including the powerful Hezbollah movement and its allies, the Shia Amal Movement of Speaker Nabih Berri and President Michel Aoun’s Christian Free Patriotic Movement, the government could not survive the catastrophe. “The explosion has blown off the cabinet and thrown it in the sea. It should have resigned from the very first day,” said analyst Amin Kammourieh. “Diab’s government may not be held solely responsible for what happened but it definitely had a part in it because it was created to carry out the mission of enacting reforms and fighting corruption in which it failed drastically. “Diab’s biggest mistake was to accept to head a government controlled by the parties which are accused of corruption,” Kammourieh contended. Painful slap In his resignation speech, Diab blamed corrupt politicians who preceded him for the “earthquake” that hit Lebanon, saying decades of entrenched corruption is “bigger than the state.”Hezbollah suffered a painful blow with the departure of the puppet government it dominated. The move risks opening the way to dragged-out negotiations over a new cabinet amid urgent calls for reform. “The first impression is that the formation of a new government is very complicated and out of reach at least for the moment. But international pressure led by France is mounting and internal turmoil is building up and turning violent. This should normally speed up the Cabinet formation,” said political analyst Johnny Mounayar. Names of potential candidates for the premiership are being circulated, including Nawaf Salam, a sitting judge at the International Court of Justice, and Mohamed Baasiri, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank. Both have been rejected by Hezbollah as pro-American. A return to power of former premier Saad Hariri is also unlikely. Hariri, who resigned last year following anti-government protests known as the “October 17 revolt,” has set a number of conditions that are unlikely to be accepted by his political rivals. They include forming an independent government of non-politically affiliated technocrats with exceptional powers to introduce the aspired reforms. What was possible before August 4 is no longer enough, according to analysts who stressed the urgent need for a government that can deliver on the economy and reforms, including in the energy, social services, public administration and judicial sectors. “I don’t think the political class has the option of procrastinating in the formation of a new Cabinet. There are big international pressures and the country is no longer viable. Its two strongest economic pillars, the banking sector and trade through Beirut port have been shattered destroyed,” Kammourieh said. “A government of technocrats could be an option but this time it would have unanimous political cover locally in addition to international support to carry out badly-needed reforms, unlike Diab’s government which was one-sided and isolated internationally,” he added. World leaders, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, have pledged to provide emergency assistance to Lebanon after the port explosion devastated much of Beirut, causing billions of dollars of damage. But they have insisted there needs to be urgent reforms before they commit further financial aid to help stabilise the economy. The roots of Lebanon’s political malaise date to the end of its 15-year civil war in 1990 and the decision to share power through sectarian quotas. Critics say this has created an entrenched political class of corrupt warlords or “chiefs” who divide power and influence between themselves along sectarian lines. The pressure from the street — and from Macron, who visited Beirut last week after the blast — could push the political factions to put aside their differences and form a unity government. Meanwhile, public fury continues to spill out into the streets as thousands of people, some erecting scaffolds to hang effigies of their leaders, are calling for regime change and an international probe into the blast. About 20 people have been detained after the blast, including the head of Lebanon’s customs department and his predecessor, as well as the head of the port. Dozens of people have been questioned, including two former cabinet ministers, according to government officials..
Lebanon will never get well as long as Hezbollah is strangling it/Dr. John C. Hulsman/Arab News/August 14/2020 Since Beirut’s highly unexpected tragedy of Aug. 4 — when a monumental explosion facilitated by ammonium nitrate devastated its port and left 300,000 people homeless in one of the worst industrial accidents on record — everything has returned to normal, or at least what passes as routine in highly dysfunctional Lebanon. On Monday, the country’s hapless and inept government fell, as outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab forthrightly allowed that the blast was ultimately caused by endemic corruption. Surprisingly, he went on to say, “corruption is rooted in every part of the state… I find that corruption is greater than the state,” and “the political class is using all their dirty tricks to prevent real change.” Hearteningly, international donors quickly pledged an impressive $300 million in humanitarian aid, though the costs of the disaster are estimated to amount to a gargantuan $15 billion. So isn’t this a rare and heartening example of government accountability, perhaps even the beginning of a brighter new chapter for this tragic country? Well, hardly, as we have to look beneath the surface at the Kafka novel that is Lebanon as a failed state. First, the old discredited government is staying on in a caretaker capacity, meaning little change is likely to occur in the short term. Second, there is absolutely no indication that the new government will be populated by anyone other than the old discredited players in the outgoing government and the entrenched shadowy power brokers that sustain them. Rather, it is highly probable the old corrupt elite will continue to siphon off much of the country’s wealth for itself, providing next to nothing in return in terms of public services in a place where blackouts are endemic and the tap water is not safe to drink. In fact, the old guard is already rallying round its exorbitant privileges. When asked if international calls for an investigation as to the precise causes of the blast was a good idea, Lebanese President Michel Aoun predictably (and illogically) said such an impartial effort would “dilute the truth.” The only “truth” such a statement reveals is that the country’s jaded elite is not very keen on being held accountable for its actions. Everyone alive knows this. In fact, it is telling that the international community’s $300 million in aid will be distributed through nongovernmental organizations, rather than swallowed up by the black hole that is the Lebanese government. But beyond even all these daunting obstacles to making Lebanon well, one future mountainous problem stands out: The unbridled and pernicious influence of Hezbollah on the Lebanese state. For whatever comes next, unless Hezbollah is defanged, the country simply cannot be put back together, as the militia retains a pivotal voice. Emerging from the brutal Lebanese Civil War of 1975-1990, Hezbollah defied the 1989 Taif Agreement that finally put an end to the bloody conflict. Unlike the rest of the mosaic of militias that thrived during the carnage, Hezbollah alone ignored the accord’s terms, refusing to disband. The original sin of all that has followed comes from this, as retaining the hard men with guns has given Hezbollah disproportionate power in Lebanon, making it almost a state within a state. Forging a strange alliance of expediency with the Maronite Christian faction of Aoun, their joint concord is the dominant force in the outgoing, corrupt, and discredited government. The alliance together controls 76 of 128 seats in parliament and runs 18 of the country’s 30 ministries. Indeed, the port of Lebanon itself, the epicenter of the blast, is an area under the militia’s direct control and a major source of its patronage. Suddenly, Aoun’s aversion to an international inquiry into the causes of the blast begins to make sense. At base, the structural problem is that Hezbollah sees its interests in terms of what is best for itself and its financier, Iran, rather than what is best for the Lebanese people. Retaining the hard men with guns has given Hezbollah disproportionate power in Lebanon. The best example of this is Hezbollah’s 2013 intervention in the Syrian Civil War. While such a decisive initiative furthered the goals of both the bloody Assad regime (to which Hezbollah has traditionally been close) and Iran, the intervention amounted to a predictable disaster for the Lebanese state itself. The heightened conflict led to 1.5 million refugees spilling over Lebanon’s border — an economic burden the country could ill afford. Further, sanctions put into place by several of the Gulf states hit Lebanon’s rocky economy hard, drying up the river of remittances that traditionally kept the country going. The inconvenient truth is that Hezbollah has both the muscle and the political power to veto any real efforts at fundamental reform of the failed Lebanese state. No such program stands the least chance of success until Hezbollah’s grasp around Lebanon’s neck has been broken. So while, on its surface, the past week’s fall of the Lebanese government seems heartening, this closer political risk look at how the country actually works makes it crystal clear that, at least so far, all this political movement actually amounts to much ado about nothing. *Dr. John C. Hulsman is the president and managing partner of John C. Hulsman Enterprises, a prominent global political risk consulting firm. He is also senior columnist for City AM, the newspaper of the City of London. He can be contacted via www.chartwellspeakers.com.
