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AUGUST 4

Families of victims of Aug. 4 blast commemorate 23 months since explosion

Families of victims of Aug. 4 blast commemorate 23 months since explosion

View of the destroyed silos of the Port of Beirut. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)

BEIRUT — Families of the victims of the Aug. 4 explosion commemorated 23 months since the explosion, on Monday, during a sit-in in defense of the grain silos, which the authorities are accused of “seeking to erase the traces of the crime.”

Here’s what we know:

    • Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri called the families of the victims to meet with them, while in a previous meeting with the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the Deputy said that Member of Parliament Ali Hassan Khalil, who was charged with connections to the Aug. 4 explosion, is ready to meet with them in order to exonerate himself.

    • “How can Berri suggest that we meet with him and his cohorts who beat us when he ordered Youssef Khalil not to sign the judicial appointments decree? How can an accused who has evaded justice acquit himself in front of us and confront us?” the statement said.

    • The families stated that the responsibility falls upon anyone who hindered the investigation.

    • They launched a campaign against the demolition of silos in the capital. "We announce the launch of the solidarity campaign to protect and preserve the silos of the port of Beirut," they declared in a press release.

    • The families of the victims have set the objectives of this campaign. Among other things, they requested that the silos be recognized as part of the cultural heritage of Beirut, the inscription of the site on the World Heritage List and a structural assessment of the silos with a view to strengthening the remaining structure.

    • A follow-up to the legal actions filed with the Council of State to annul the government's decision to demolish them is also desired. An online petition has been created for the protection of silos.

    • On the occasion of this 23rd monthly commemoration of the explosions, the NGO Human Rights Watch asked France to give its "green light" for the opening of an international investigation into the explosion and denounced what it considers to be the "inaction" of French President Emmanuel Macron on this subject.

BEIRUT — Families of the victims of the Aug. 4 explosion commemorated 23 months since the explosion, on Monday, during a sit-in in defense of the grain silos, which the authorities are accused of “seeking to erase the traces of the crime.” Here’s what we know:     • Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri called the families of the victims to meet with them, while in a previous...