August 4 blast victims' families carrying photos showing their relatives killed in the blast, in front of the Statue of the Emigrant in Beirut on September 4, 2022. Credit (Instagram/akhbar.alsaha)
BEIRUT — To mark the 25th month since the explosion, relatives of the those killed in the deadly Aug. 4, 2020 port blast gathered Sunday afternoon in front of the Statue of the Emigrant, opposite what remains of the wheat silos at the Beirut port. As they have done every fourth of the month since the tragedy, a few dozen demonstrators demanded justice for the more than 220 victims killed in tragedy, as well as for the 6,500 people injured.
At 6:07 p.m., the exact moment of the tragedy, the demonstrators observed a minute of silence. Some carried portraits of their deceased loved ones.
"The explosion at the port shook everyone but you. It didn't hit your thrones, nor your chairs: it even kept you there," said one of the demonstrators, addressing the Lebanese ruling class. In a video posted on journalist Salman Andary's Twitter account, the man continued: "You are the ones who live on the blood of the innocent and the cries of mothers, children, fathers and widows."
On Saturday, a controversy pitted caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin against opposition MP Najat Aoun Saliba, the latter denouncing the authorities' "lack of plan" to fight against the repeated fires that consume the port silos. In response, Yassin said that cooling operations at the silos and the removal of rubble began "nine days ago," speaking about a plan of the ministry in this regard. He called on Saliba to consult this plan, assuring that he was "open to constructive cooperation."
The group of MPs to which Saliba belongs also said Saturday that the next president should impose the resumption of the investigation into the explosion and protect it from any political intervention. Lebanon has entered the elections period to select a successor to Michel Aoun, whose term in office ends on Oct. 31.
More than two years after the Beirut explosion, the investigation into the catastrophe has been suspended due to numerous requests for the dismissal of the judge in charge, Tarek Bitar, by senior politicians who have been summoned for questioning or who are facing prosecution.