Spokesperson of the US Department of State: Washington is seeking to support the Lebanese people
Shafaq News/ Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Ned Price said, on Wednesday, Washington is seeking to support the Lebanese people by providing humanitarian aid and imposing sanctions on Lebanese leaders.
In a press conference, Price spoke of a "collective failure by the Lebanese leaders," and said, "We have not seen these officials put aside their political interests, and the time has come to do so."
Thousands of Lebanese gathered near the port of Beirut on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of a catastrophic explosion that devastated the city, demanding justice for the victims.
One year since the disaster, caused by a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port for years, no senior official has been held to account, infuriating many Lebanese as their country also endures financial collapse.
One of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, the explosion wounded thousands and was felt in Cyprus, more than 240 km (150 miles) away.
An investigation is stalling with requests denied for immunity to be lifted from senior politicians and former officials. All those sought for questioning by the Lebanese investigators have denied any wrongdoing.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has led Western pressure for reform in Lebanon, said its leaders owed the people the truth and heaped new criticism on the governing elite for failing to deal with the economic crisis.
A Human Rights Watch report released this week concluded there was strong evidence to suggest some Lebanese officials knew about and tacitly accepted the lethal risks posed by ammonium nitrate.
Diab, who quit after the blast, has said his conscience is clear.
An international conference on Lebanon on Wednesday aims to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to meet the country’s humanitarian needs, one year after the massive explosion at Beirut’s port.
The virtual event, co-hosted by France and the United Nations, is meant to show support for the Lebanese people, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
France will provide 100 million euros ($118.6 million) in the coming months, Macron said in his opening remarks.
About 40 heads of state and government, diplomats, and heads of international organizations are taking part in the conference, according to Macron’s office. Participants include President Joe Biden, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and European Council President Charles Michel.
The event is also meant to mount pressure on Lebanese leaders to form a new government able to implement reforms and start rebuilding the country.
Lebanon is going through the worst economic and financial crisis of its modern history, and a political stalemate that has kept the country without a functioning government for a full year.
According to the U.N., over half of the Lebanese people now live in poverty, one in three Lebanese suffer from food insecurity and nearly 4 million people are at risk of not accessing safe water.
