Inauguration of the 'Street of the Victims of Aug. 4,' near Beirut Port
The ceremony was held in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud and relatives of the victims of the disaster.
Speaking at the event, Salam called to "take hands off justice."
"We will not compromise on justice or truth," he said. He also noted that "no one is above the law" in the port explosion case.
"We will not compromise on this question because truth is the mother of justice," he stated, believing that "there will be no justice as long as the whole truth has not been revealed." He again emphasized the government's commitment to follow this case until justice is done.
Earlier in the day, Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh said he added the Beirut Port silos, ravaged by the deadly explosion on Aug. 4, 2020, and the site of a series of fires in 2022, to the general inventory of historic monuments. During a roundtable at the National Library in Sanayeh, dedicated to the repercussions of the disaster and organized with the Ministry of Social Affairs — the first of its kind for the Aug. 4 commemoration — Nawaf Salam stated that "every official will be held accountable" for this tragedy.
On the eve of Aug. 4, several political, religious and social figures on Sunday called for accountability and denounced the ongoing impunity.
The explosions at Beirut Port killed 235 people, injured more than 7,000 and destroyed a significant part of the capital. Five years later, no officials have yet been tried, due to political interference in the investigation led by Judge Tarek Bitar. Several commemorations are planned for Sunday and Monday.
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L'Orient-Le Jour
10 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Inauguration of the 'Street of the Victims of Aug. 4,' near Beirut Port
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the deadly explosion at Beirut Port, a section of Charles Helou Avenue located near one of the entrances to the capital's port was named on Sunday the "Street of the Victims of Aug. 4," following a request made by the victims' families. The ceremony was held in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud and relatives of the victims of the disaster. Speaking at the event, Salam called to "take hands off justice." "We will not compromise on justice or truth," he said. He also noted that "no one is above the law" in the port explosion case. "We will not compromise on this question because truth is the mother of justice," he stated, believing that "there will be no justice as long as the whole truth has not been revealed." He again emphasized the government's commitment to follow this case until justice is done. Earlier in the day, Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh said he added the Beirut Port silos, ravaged by the deadly explosion on Aug. 4, 2020, and the site of a series of fires in 2022, to the general inventory of historic monuments. During a roundtable at the National Library in Sanayeh, dedicated to the repercussions of the disaster and organized with the Ministry of Social Affairs — the first of its kind for the Aug. 4 commemoration — Nawaf Salam stated that "every official will be held accountable" for this tragedy. On the eve of Aug. 4, several political, religious and social figures on Sunday called for accountability and denounced the ongoing impunity. The explosions at Beirut Port killed 235 people, injured more than 7,000 and destroyed a significant part of the capital. Five years later, no officials have yet been tried, due to political interference in the investigation led by Judge Tarek Bitar. Several commemorations are planned for Sunday and Monday.
L'Orient-Le Jour
14 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
5 years after the Aug. 4 explosion, calls for justice increase
On the eve of the fifth commemoration of the explosion at Beirut Port on Aug. 4, 2020, several political, religious and social figures called Sunday for accountability and denounced the ongoing impunity. In his Sunday homily, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut, Archbishop Elias Audi, said that "this explosion remains an open wound in the body of Beirut, and a stain of shame on the forehead of all those who knew and still know, but have not revealed the truth, hid it, contributed to erasing or concealing it, or refused to appear before the judge." He added: "How can they sleep with a clear conscience when thousands of families are waiting to know who took their children's lives or displaced them? How can a judge, a deputy, a minister or anyone connected to this disaster carry on normally while the mothers of Beirut spend their nights in tears and suffering, and some wounded still moan? Enough obstacles to the investigation, silence about the truth and fear for interests." He also stressed that the tragedy was the result of "negligence, corruption, inadequacy, complicity and indifference." Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri wrote his X that "five years after the crime of the explosion at the port of Beirut, Lebanon is still waiting for justice for the victims of this catastrophe and their families, for the wounded, and for our wounded capital Beirut." "We do not lose hope that the indictment will be issued and the legal process launched as soon as possible, so that the guilty are brought to trial," he continued. "We hope the truth comes out, so the country's conscience can rest easy," added the former prime minister. '48 decisive hours' Former President Michel Sleiman said that "the next 48 hours will be decisive for Lebanon's history," expressing hope that they "will mark the true beginning of a process to save the homeland," in a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency (NNA). "Tomorrow marks the grim anniversary of the explosion at the port of Beirut. We hope the indictment in this criminal case will be made public, or that at least, the countdown to its publication will begin." The teachers' union published a statement for the fifth commemoration of the port explosion, regretting that "the Lebanese state has not done justice for its own people." "As teachers and educators, we cannot educate new generations on the values of rights and accountability as long as such judicial cases remain stalled by political interference," the statement said. On the eve of the tragedy's commemoration, Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh said Sunday that he listed the Beirut Port silos, devastated by the explosion and the site of a series of fires in 2022, in the general list of historic monuments. Speaking at a conference devoted to the repercussions of the disaster and organized with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed that "anyone responsible will be held accountable." The Aug. 4 tragedy killed 235 people, wounded more than 7,000, and destroyed a significant part of the capital. Five years later, no one has yet been tried due to political interference in the investigation led by Judge Tarek Bitar.
L'Orient-Le Jour
14 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Culture minister adds Beirut silos to general inventory of historic monuments
Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh said Sunday he has added the silos at Beirut Port — devastated by the deadly Aug. 4, 2020 explosion and later struck by a series of fires in 2022 — to the general inventory of historic monuments. Speaking at a roundtable at the National Library in Sanayeh, focused on the disaster's consequences and organized with the Ministry of Social Affairs — the first such event marking the Aug. 4 anniversary — Salameh said he signed the decision Sunday morning. The Lebanese government approved the silos' demolition in March 2022. Two days later, the culture minister decided to classify them as historic monuments. At the end of August 2022, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati sent a letter to the public works minister asking him to "preserve the south block of the silos as a memorial to the port's martyrs." Recently, relatives of the victims of the Aug. 4 tragedy met with several Lebanese officials, including Salameh, to discuss the protection of the port silos. 'No compromise at the expense of justice' Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed that "discovering the truth about the Beirut Port explosion and holding officials accountable is a unifying national cause." "Impunity has become a culture; it has allowed corruption to endure and repeated collapses to occur," he added, stating that "the Aug. 4 case is not just judicial; it also raises questions about the kind of country we want to live in, because there can be no country without justice." "There will be no compromise at the expense of justice, and this wound cannot heal until the whole truth is revealed and all those responsible are tried, no matter who they are," Salam said, stating that "every official will be held accountable." The prime minister also stated that 'without justice, citizenship has no meaning and state-building is pointless,' reaffirming his commitment to 'building a free, independent, and sovereign state that fully exercises its sovereignty over its entire territory by its own means,' in accordance with the ministerial declaration. 'Truth is the mother of all justice,' said Salam. The Aug. 4 tragedy killed 235 people, injured more than 7,000, and destroyed a large part of Lebanon's capital. Five years later, no officials have yet been tried because of political interference in the investigation led by Judge Tarek Bitar. Several commemorations are scheduled on Sunday and Monday.
