The Lebanese crisis is one of the three most serious crises in the world since the early 19th century, according to the World Bank.
In Lebanon, one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history took place a year ago in the port of Beirut. 214 people died, over six thousand were injured, hundreds of thousands were left homeless.
On the occasion of the anniversary, Human Rights Watch published a report from which it appears that during the explosion that destroyed the economy countries, local officials are to blame.
Meanwhile, both economic and political crises are deepening in Lebanon. The protests continue unabated. Correspondent.net tells the details.
Officials foresaw, but did nothing
On the first anniversary of the explosion in the port of Beirut, thousands of people took to the streets, demanding that those responsible for the tragedy be punished. The security services and the army have stepped up security measures at the entrances to the capital and on the roads leading to the port of Beirut, where vehicles arriving in the city have been searched.
The Lebanese army command said it arrested several young men who were going to take part in commemorative events, carrying a large amount of weapons and ammunition.
The Lebanese security forces organized a march from the Square of the Fallen in Beirut to the port where the tragedy occurred. The protesters laid flowers at the memorial erected in memory of those killed in the explosion in the port of Beirut.
Despite the commemorative events, demonstrators began to gather in the streets of the Lebanese capital, condemning the lack of justice and the refusal to lift immunity from the main accused in the disaster.
In the case of the explosion, the court arrested more than 30 people, but due to the high level of corruption in the country, none of the highest officials was ever brought to justice.
On that day, Human Rights Watch released a 700-page report analyzing official documents, as well as transcripts of interviews with senior Lebanese officials, including the president, interim prime minister and the country’s chief of state security.
Human rights activists have found that since 2014, when the cargo with ammonium nitrate arrived at the port of Beirut, various authorities received warnings about the possibility of an explosion.
“Some government officials foresaw the death that the presence of ammonium nitrate in the port could lead to,” the international organization said in a report.
Human Rights Watch accused Lebanese officials of criminal negligence. The organization called on the UN Human Rights Council to announce an official international investigation into the explosion. Foreign governments, according to human rights activists, should impose sanctions on Lebanese officials for human rights violations and corruption.
In the evening, violent clashes broke out between demonstrators and law enforcement officials. The protesters at the parliament building began throwing stones and metal rods at the security forces, after which they tried to break the barriers. The police were forced to use tear gas and water cannons.
The clashes, which lasted at least three hours, injured 84 people, Lebanese Red Cross spokesman George Kettane said. 13 people were hospitalized, the rest were treated on the spot.
The Department of Homeland Security says protesters tried to take over the parliamentary palace. Demonstrators reportedly attacked several offices near the Ministry of Telecommunications. It is known about the detention of two people.
On August 4, 2020, a colossal explosion took place in the port of the Lebanese capital Beirut, which turned out to be one of the most devastating industrial disasters in human history.
An abandoned cargo of saltpeter from a dry cargo ship arrested by Lebanon back in 2014 was detonated. The explosion was so strong that seismic stations around the world recorded it as an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3, and the rumble from it was heard 250 kilometers away, in Cyprus.
More than 200 people died, thousands were seriously injured. The infrastructure of the Lebanese capital has suffered severe damage, estimated at billions of dollars.
Lebanon was in a deep economic crisis even before the explosion – the World Bank ranked this crisis among the ten most serious in the world since the mid-19th century. However, the disaster in the port exacerbated it many times over – now the Lebanese crisis is among the top three.
Before the explosion, the port received up to 60 percent of all imports of the country, in almost all areas dependent on supplies from abroad, and the granary was capable of containing 85 percent of the total national grain supply. Due to its destruction, Lebanon is experiencing an acute food crisis.
Last year, Lebanon defaulted on its debt, and the national currency lost about 90 percent of its value. Food prices jumped 400 percent in the country, official Lebanese statistics said.
It is impossible to buy even basic products with the rapidly depreciating national currency, there are not enough medicines in pharmacies, gasoline at gas stations, electricity in homes is regularly cut off.
A recent World Bank report notes that most Lebanese live below the poverty line, and with rising unemployment rates, an increasing number of households are struggling to access basic services, including health care.
Such indicators are usually recorded against the background of military conflicts, the experts of the World Bank note. More about this in the material. Lebanon is close to collapse.
Moreover, since the explosion, the country has actually lived without a government. A year ago, in the wake of popular protests that followed the explosion, the government of Hassan Diab resigned, but is still forced to fulfill its duties, since there was no replacement for him.
Three candidates for prime minister have already changed. The latter, Najib Mikati, received a mandate to form a government at the end of July. In Lebanon, they hoped that he would be able to negotiate with Presidents Michel Aoun, but they never came to an agreement on the distribution of government portfolios.
Wednesday, August 4, France, which took on the fate of Lebanon immediately after the explosion, organized the third donor online conference since the explosion in order to raise funds for humanitarian aid to Lebanon. As a result, it was decided to allocate $ 370 million to Lebanon.
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The aid will go to meet the basic needs of the population in the areas of food, water supply, health care and education. Of this money, about 118 million are allocated by France, 100 million – by the United States and about 47 million – by Germany.
“But no external assistance will be sufficient if the Lebanese leadership does not commit to doing the hard but necessary work to reform the economy in the fight against corruption,” said American leader Joe Biden.
His French colleague Emmanuel Macron, who harshly criticized Lebanese politicians, agreed with him.
“All Lebanese political circles by their actions only deepened the crisis in the country, since they primarily pursued their own selfish interests, neglecting the interests of the Lebanese people,” Macron said.
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