"The people, the army, and justice," can be read in front of the silos at the port of Beirut, ravaged by the double explosion of Aug. 4, 2020. (Credit: Archive photo Matthieu Karam / L'OLJ)
BEIRUT — Six years after the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion, President Joseph Aoun on Monday called on the investigating judge overseeing the case to issue the long-awaited indictment, saying it has become "a necessity that cannot be delayed any longer."
In a statement marking the anniversary, Aoun paid tribute to the victims of the explosion that devastated large parts of Beirut and stressed the need to achieve "truth, justice and accountability." More than 220 people were killed, over 6,500 were injured, and entire neighborhoods of the capital were destroyed when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port exploded.
"On this day, every year, all of Lebanon stands before a wound that has not healed and a memory that has not faded," Aoun said, adding that the country remembers "the horror of that moment when Beirut shook to its core." He described the port explosion as "a tragedy the likes of which our modern history has never known," saying it had "changed the face of the capital, claimed innocent lives, left hundreds injured and caused devastation that reached the stones before it touched the hearts."
Praising the families of the victims, Aoun said that this anniversary was not only "a period of mourning," but "a permanent reminder of a duty that does not disappear with time: the duty of truth, justice, and accountability." "The wound will not heal, and the nation will not regain trust in its institutions as long as the justice process is not brought to completion," he continued.
The president placed particular emphasis on the long-awaited indictment, which has been delayed for years by multiple appeals and legal challenges. "I stress that the issuance of the indictment by the investigating judge in charge of the case has become a necessity that cannot be delayed any longer," he said.
For Aoun, "justice does not mean revenge, but the establishment of rights, the revelation of the full truth, without omission, and the sanction of all those who have shown negligence, failed in their duty, or caused this disaster, whatever their position or status."
"Justice is not divided, and the law excludes no one from its authority," he added. He also called on the judiciary "to prove its independence and its ability to deliver justice to the victims," saying the indictment represented "a right of the martyrs before the living" and "a right for their families who have waited so long."
'Accountability will spare no one'
As the families of the victims have demanded for the past six years that those responsible be identified, Aoun reaffirmed that "the rule of law is the only guarantee against the repetition of this tragedy."
"Lebanon, which has demonstrated resilience in even the darkest circumstances, is capable of emerging from this ordeal stronger, when justice is fully served," he concluded.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also reiterated Monday the need to see the judicial process through to completion.
"No compromise will be made at the expense of justice, even if it is sometimes delayed," he wrote on X. Saying that "there is no protection for any official, regardless of their position," Salam assured that "accountability will spare no one." He also paid tribute to the wave of solidarity that followed the disaster, calling for Aug. 4 to become "the day of Beirut, of recovery, of solidarity and of unity among the Lebanese."
Six years after the Beirut port explosion, the indictment in the investigation led by Judge Tarek Bitar is still pending. The case has nevertheless entered its final stage: after completing his investigation, Bitar referred the file to the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation at the end of March so that the prosecutor could submit his final submissions — a mandatory step before the indictment can be issued.
