Lebanon is in crisis at the moment, there is no denying that. Corruption from politicians to rich people, isolation from neighbouring Arab nations, and wealth that is being exported from the country to overseas tax havens.
By politicians, businessmen and more recently average Lebanese people who love their country but can’t live there.
The Lebanese judge leading investigations into Beirut port blast was forced to stop work over a lawsuit filed by an ex-minister he had summoned for interrogation.
Tarek Bitar was informed of a lawsuit submitted by former public works minister Youssef Fenianos which forced him to pause the probe until a ruling is issued.
It is the third time that Bitar has had to suspend his probe in the face of lawsuits filed by former ministers suspected of negligence over the August 2020 explosion.
The total number of lawsuits filed against Bitar now stands at 15, according to judicial sources.
In Lebanon, money and wealth are controlled by those influences and an almost mafia-like operation operates under the radar. The dollar buys you anything, at a premium, and even buying the actual dollar currency is a premium.
That makes you think if the country population is buying the dollar at less than 20% of face value, why isn’t someone fixing it? The reason is simple, it is because a lot of rich people are making huge profits from it.
Lebanese politics for dummies
The latest comes amid a campaign led by Hezbollah demanding Bitar’s replacement over allegations of “bias” that have been widely dismissed by rights groups and families of blast victims.
Hezbollah’s representatives in government have said they will boycott cabinet meetings until it takes a clear stand on demands to replace Bitar.
The cabinet, as a result, has failed to hold a single session in three weeks. Some have suggested Lebanese politics for dummies and no one cares anymore.
You can’t keep blaming Hezbollah
Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday condemned attempts to force his government to intervene in judicial affairs, indirect criticism of Hezbollah.
“We have tried as much as possible to keep the Beirut blast probe under the purview of the judiciary and we have rejected any kind of (political) interference,” Mikati told a news conference.
The moment something goes wrong in Lebanon, Hezbollah is blamed, to distract the people from the harsh reality of what the Lebanese are living through.
Human rights groups and victims’ relatives fear the repeated suspensions are a prelude to Bitar’s removal, which would further derail the official inquiry into Lebanon’s worst peacetime tragedy.
Bitar’s predecessor, Fadi Sawan, was forced to suspend his probe for the same reason before he was finally removed in February, in a move widely condemned as political interference.
The situation in the country is so bad, that more and more people are finding ways to leave, so much so that Lebanon’s greatest export is its own people, despite having one of the largest gas reserves in the world.
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