Aoun: There is a closed investigation into the issue of the Beirut Port explosion

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has asserted that there is a closed investigation into the issue of the Beirut Port explosion, which is being conducted by the Judicial Council, a Council concerned with examining important cases and the supreme authority in the country.

 

Speaking to the Italian newspaper, Corriere Della Serra, at Baabda Palace, Aoun said: “No one involved can remain in hiding. We are morally obligated not to drop any possibility, including external interference or local reasons, even if we are convinced that it was an accident that occurred due to the lack of caution of concerned parties operating in the port. We must therefore investigate all hypotheses, in order to avoid any interpretations or accusations of concealing facts”.

 

The President also stated that “Early parliamentary elections could be conducted, but according to a law that guarantees respect for peoples’ choices, and a parliamentary consensus must be obtained to shorten the Parliament’s term. No time can be specified for that, and we hope that within a year we will reach a request from the Parliament to shorten its mandate, but it is a decision which is not up to me, but up to the Speaker of Parliament and MPs, as they are the legislative authority in the country”.

 

Aoun stressed that as long as the Israeli occupation of Lebanese lands and the other problems, including land and sea borders continued, peace cannot be established.”

 

As for the expected verdict from the International Tribunal for the assassination of former Prime Minister, Rafic Hariri, and what international observers expect from the involvement of the Syrian Government and Hezbollah in the crime, the President considered that “It is a hypothetical question, and we have to wait for the verdict to build on the merits, and if the people knew who was guilty, they wouldn’t have resorted to the court. We must accept what will come from the International Tribunal, even if late justice is no justice. This crime has greatly affected the lives of the Lebanese and the course of Lebanese events”. 

 

Basma Qaddour