A Hundred Days Later Charles Elias Chartouni/November 20/2020 شارل الياس شرتوني: بعد مرور مئة يوم
Terror in Beirut, Forensic Analysis of the Proto-Nuclear Explosion
Experts worldwide* started delivering their technical assessment of the explosion after reviewing videos, photographs and documents which helped them identify the chemical components ( 5 types of plumes which correspond to different combustibles, time frame ( 5.54 pm North East, 6.00 pm N.E as well, 6.07 pm North West, 6.08 Center, 14 minutes ), Combustible material( 2700 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate, 50 Tons of Ammonium Phospate, Rolls of Slow Burning Detonating Cord, 1000 Car Tyres, 5 Tons of Tea and Coffee …, 755 meters height of detonation projections, total lack of storage security standards in terms of distancing, location at least 1570 meters away from urban areas, decayed packaging, lethal combination of combustible material, …. ). Experts consider that Ammonium Nitrate is very difficult to detonate by fire exclusively, nonetheless, when confined and contaminated it can trigger catastrophic explosions as demonstrated in the 4th of August Beirut explosion. After 3 and an a half months, the Lebanese government has not yet released any report ( forensic, administrative, legal, criminal … ) which accounts for the circumstances that led to this criminal explosion that destroyed major parts of Eastern Beirut, and led to humanitarian, urban, social, economic, financial, educational and health infrastructures catastrophes, and are still unacknowledged and unaddressed by its different agencies ( 204 victims, 6500 with various degrees of injuries and invalidities, 20 disappeared, 50.000 destroyed and damaged homes, 300.000 displaced, massive urban devastation in Gemmayzeh, Mar Mikhayel, overall Ashrafieh and vicinity, badly damaged and partially destroyed schools, universities, hospitals ….).
This deliberate oversight, far from being the expression of the commonplace delinquency of the reigning oligarchies, is an intentional terror act which displays the true nature of this criminal undertaking: it’s an act of total war initiated by Shiite fascists and their oligarchic accomplices, which aims at upending the political and urban dynamics, annihilate the strategic platforms of the Christian community, and enact the last stages of a domination strategy in motion. The release of various international forensic and intelligence reports is essential, if we were to understand the nature of the criminal indifference, moral and political apathy and total disregard for the reconstruction issues which succeeded the catastrophe, and account for the governmental and oligarchic smugness and cynicism.
This state of deliberate heedlessness has backlashed on international relief and reconstruction projects and swayed their alertness, tempo and readiness at a time when the international environment is fraught with vital crises. The caretaker government, its Hezbollah mentors and oligarchic accomplices have exhibited utter disregard for this tragedy, and the purported prime minister Saad al Hariri, in charge of cabinet formation, didn’t even mention it in his statements, while he rushed to defray the damages of a minor tragic fire on his power turf. The significant political incidence of this terrorist act should be reckoned with, since it’s a noteworthy gauge of the country’s viability, readiness for major reformist undertakings, and ability to evolve a moral compass which parallels the ugly realities of a proceeding decomposition.
*The 3D analysis was conducted by Forensic Architecture, a multi-disciplinary Research Group at the University of London, that uses architectural techniques and technologies to investigate State and Human Rights violations Worldwide ( https: //github.com/forensic-architecture/models ). To review the video, you should press on “ open in app “ on the bottom of the video and get the Vimeo application if you don’t have it.
