President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati met Wednesday in Baabda. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
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The crew operating “Blue Whale,” the submarine which last week found the bodies of 11 people who sank during an informal migration attempt, “left [Lebanon] abruptly without informing the lawyers” representing victims’ families or releasing a report of their findings, one of the families’ legal counsels told L’Orient Today. The victims’ families were expecting a report detailing the submarine mission’s findings, said Mohammed Sablouh, a lawyer representing some of the bereaved, who, along with a team of lawyers, had filed a complaint requesting an investigation into the boat’s sinking. Sablouh had recently also reported his clients’ request for an “international investigation” into the incident amid allegations that the case is being obstructed by the Army, especially following the uncertainty expressed by officials over whether the sunken vessel will be refloated. The Army claimed that the boat capsized due to overcrowding, as it was carrying 85 people before its wreck off the coast of Tripoli. However, survivors claimed that the cause was Army intervention. Around 40 people died in the sinking, with 30 of them still missing before the submarine search operation began.
Various parts of Lebanon suffered an interruption of state telecommunications provider Ogero’s services days after employees announced an open-ended strike. Ogero services were not functioning in Hamra and Corniche al-Mazraa in Beirut and Beiteddine as well as Bint Jbeil, Damour, Marjayoun, Sour, Saida and Nabatieh, according to L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the South and the state-run National News Agency. The state telecom provider’s employees began a strike Monday to demand higher wages, halting all “maintenance and operation work.” While revenues have faltered and operations costs increased at state telecom operators Ogero, Alfa and Touch in light of the lira’s depreciation, the companies imposed a tariff hike, further driving up costs of living. The telecom providers’ employees have repeatedly protested their working conditions and wages, as have public sector employees who at the start of August returned to work after having been on strike for several months. Interruptions to Ogero’s services can have drastic consequences, which include exacerbating access to emergency medical care as hotlines go offline.
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati met amid tensions over the governmental vacuum that persists two months before the presidential election deadline. Mikati’s latest comments on government formation restated on Tuesday his commitment to appointing a ministerial roster in response to Gebran Bassil’s criticisms of deliberate stalling in a statement earlier the same day. After Lebanon’s last government took 13 months to form, fears of an executive power vacuum have arisen, especially in light of Aoun’s comments that the caretaker government cannot assume presidential responsibilities. Aoun has said he will vacate the presidential palace at the end of his term to make way for his successor. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Aoun sent back the law on banking secrecy to Parliament, which was asked to review, among other things, the law’s retroactivity. Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announced he would submit to parliament a law aiming to reduce prison overcrowding after overdue catering payments risked provoking food shortages in Lebanon’s prisons.
Civil Defense, the Lebanese Army and security forces tamed a fire that “damaged” sections of the Tannourine Cedar Reserve as it raged overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. Tannourine mayor Samy Youssef told local media that an investigation had begun despite no initial traces of suspicious activity, recalling the Civil Defense director’s claim that an overwhelming majority of fires in Lebanon are man-made. Earlier in the day, Lebanon's National Council for Scientific Research warned of an increased risk of fires. Wildfires have repeatedly raged throughout Lebanon’s rural areas throughout the summer as the country struggles to provide firefighting squads with the necessary resources. Local NGOs and volunteer firefighting associations often play a part in extinguishing blazes. The charred trees have been a boon, however, to illegal loggers who scavenge the burnt forests for firewood.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) along Lebanon’s southern border for another year, until Aug. 31, 2023. The new resolution also extends for six months “temporary and special measures” taken during the last renewal and which include assisting the Lebanese Armed Forces with “the provision of relevant additional non-lethal material,” including food, fuel and other supplies. UNIFIL was founded in 1978 and its mandate is renewed each year.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “An audiovisual ode to a city that demands to be heard”