Entire Lebanese government quits
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Dubai — Lebanon’s prime minister confirmed the resignation of his government as an outraged public demanded accountability for last week’s explosion at Beirut’s port, the biggest peacetime catastrophe in the nation’s history.
“The scope of this disaster is bigger than can be described,” Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a speech to a traumatised nation on Monday, after just seven months in office. He blamed a corrupt political elite for sabotaging his administration.
“Each minister gave it their all,” he said. “But some people only care about scoring political points. Their corruption has led to this disaster.”
Diab had failed to deliver on the demands of protesters who have taken to the streets since October seeking change, nor had he advanced talks with donor countries and the IMF for billions of dollars in aid that a country drowning in debt so badly needs.
Anger has surged in a nation already grimly familiar with decades of governmental malfeasance as it coped with the aftermath of a blast that killed more than 150 people, injured thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more. It was caused by 2,750 tonnes of explosive materials left for six years at the country’s main port, in spite of repeated safety warnings.
Lebanon’s own leaders, fearing public anger, have hardly dared to set foot in the devastated areas, and protests erupted late last week demanding change and the resignation of Diab’s administration. Several ministers had already quit in the aftermath of the disaster, including the finance and justice ministers earlier on Monday.
“We need to move forward with the reforms, structural reforms, not just normal reforms,” said Yassine Jaber, member of the Lebanese parliament. “There has been resistance in the political scene for implementing these reforms. I think from here onwards, if this resistance persists, I think the country cannot delay doing these reforms any more and a total collapse is on the cards,” he said on a Bloomberg TV interview on Tuesday.
In line with procedure, Diab went to the presidential palace where President Michel Aoun accepted his resignation and asked him to continue in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed. He can take charge of procedural tasks but is unauthorised to make important decisions.
It’s not clear how long it will take to form a new government in a nation where political divisions mean talks can drag out for months, or whether a ...
“The scope of this disaster is bigger than can be described,” Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a speech to a traumatised nation on Monday, after just seven months in office. He blamed a corrupt political elite for sabotaging his administration.
“Each minister gave it their all,” he said. “But some people only care about scoring political points. Their corruption has led to this disaster.”
Diab had failed to deliver on the demands of protesters who have taken to the streets since October seeking change, nor had he advanced talks with donor countries and the IMF for billions of dollars in aid that a country drowning in debt so badly needs.
Anger has surged in a nation already grimly familiar with decades of governmental malfeasance as it coped with the aftermath of a blast that killed more than 150 people, injured thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more. It was caused by 2,750 tonnes of explosive materials left for six years at the country’s main port, in spite of repeated safety warnings.
Lebanon’s own leaders, fearing public anger, have hardly dared to set foot in the devastated areas, and protests erupted late last week demanding change and the resignation of Diab’s administration. Several ministers had already quit in the aftermath of the disaster, including the finance and justice ministers earlier on Monday.
“We need to move forward with the reforms, structural reforms, not just normal reforms,” said Yassine Jaber, member of the Lebanese parliament. “There has been resistance in the political scene for implementing these reforms. I think from here onwards, if this resistance persists, I think the country cannot delay doing these reforms any more and a total collapse is on the cards,” he said on a Bloomberg TV interview on Tuesday.
In line with procedure, Diab went to the presidential palace where President Michel Aoun accepted his resignation and asked him to continue in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed. He can take charge of procedural tasks but is unauthorised to make important decisions.
It’s not clear how long it will take to form a new government in a nation where political divisions mean talks can drag out for months, or whether a ...
