It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
As Lebanon continues to seek to rebuild the Port of Beirut almost four years after the ammonium nitrate explosion, France has come forward with a new proposal. At a conference in Beirut this week, Lebanese and French officials revealed the port’s reconstruction and re-organization plan.
The proposal aims to repair the damaged infrastructure, optimize the port layout for better traffic flow, and enable the transition to the use of solar power. However, the proposal does not address the rebuilding of the grain silos, which experienced the most impact during the blast.
Two French engineering firms, Artelia and Egis, were involved in the development of the plan through funding from the French government. Another French public agency Expertise France, conducted a study with recommendations on how to improve security at the Port of Beirut.
“The plan has been accepted and the port’s revenue will be used to finance the required investments,” Lebanon’s transport and public works minister Ali Hamie told the French newspaper Le Monde.
Restoration of the state’s infrastructure destroyed during the explosion is estimated at $60 to 80 million. However, this cost rises to $140 million while accounting for private companies' infrastructure which was impacted, according to a 2021 assessment by USAID’s Middle East Economic Growth Project.
With the restoration costs expected to come from the port’s revenue, Director General of the Port of Beirut Omar Itani noted that there have been several positive changes after the disaster. He highlighted that revenues increased to nearly $150 million in 2023 from a low of $9 million in 2020. The number of containers handled also rose to 800,000 TEUs last year from around 600,000 TEUs in 2022. However, this is still low compared to the 1.2 million TEUs that the port handled in 2019 before the explosion.
France was among the first responders, with President Emmanuel Macron visiting the country on August 6, 2020, two days after the explosion. At the time, Macron promised to rally international players for financial support to the Lebanese people.
This week, the French ambassador to Lebanon Hervé Magro reiterated France’s support for Lebanon. “The Lebanese economy needs a port that has been rebuilt, modernized, and made safe. The French government has made the issue of the port a priority and one of the pillars of French cooperation with Lebanon,” said Magro.
In 2022, CMA Terminals, a subsidiary of the ocean carrier CMA CGM won a ten-year concession to run and manage the Port of Beirut’s container terminal. The firm pledged to invest $33 million in the terminal, focused mainly on replacing, renewing, and purchasing new equipment.
Besides France, Germany in 2021 also presented a comprehensive proposal to rebuild the port, in addition to redeveloping more than 100 hectares of the surrounding area, including residential developments.
Sunday, March 03, 2024
ECOCIDE
Rubymar Sinks in Red Sea 13 Days After Houthi Attack Damaged Bulker
Rubymar was lost after remaining afloat for nearly two weeks (Government of Yemen on X)
The bulker several damaged in a Houthi attack and abandoned by its crew finally succumbed to its damage reportedly sinking after having drifted since the February 18 attack. The government of Yemen issued a statement reporting the sinking of the Rubymar followed by an update to its previous reports from the UK Maritime Trade Operations.
The attack was reported to have taken place in the range of 15 to 25 nautical miles from the Yemeni port of Al-Mukha. The UKMTO in its statement confirmed the vessel had been dragging anchor. Previous analysis reported by Sky News calculated the vessel had drifted approximately 37 nautical miles north in the Red Sea.
The Yemeni government statement said the vessel was lost as the weather deteriorated on March 1. Previously it was said the vessel was continuing to take on water and images released on Yemeni TV earlier in the week clearly showed that it was continuing to settle at the stern. The BBC had published pictures a few days earlier showing the stern still above the water. Efforts to salvage the vessel and tow it to a port possibly in Djibouti or Saudi Arabia were hampered by the security situation in the Red Sea.
The government statement reported the bulker Rubymar registered in Belize was lost in a position about 11 miles from the nearest point of land in Yemen. It is unclear if any crew or authorities were at the ship when it was lost. The crew was evacuated immediately after the attack and taken to Djibouti where reports said they were flown home.
“The Yemeni government holds the Houthi militia responsible for the environmental disaster, and the repercussions of its continued targeting of shipping,” the government said. They reiterated that the Rubymar was carrying 41,000 tons of fertilizer as well as oils and fuel. The U.S. Central Command a week ago highlighted an 18-mile oil slick formed behind the damaged ship.
The statement from the spokesperson from the Yemen government highlighted the danger coming from the phosphate and other dangerous chemicals saying it was likely an algae plum would form which could result in the death of the coral, kill marine animals, and possibly damage desalination plants in the region. They referred to the “recklessness and indifference to the catastrophic repercussions,” using the loss of the Rubymar to call for further international action against the militants.
The loss of the Rubymar would be the most significant casualty since the Houthi attacks began in November days after they seized the car carrier Galaxy Leader. UKMTO calculates a total of 55 commercial ships have been targeted by the Houthi. While they were also successful in causing a significant fire on the Marlin Luanda in late January, and multiple strikes on vessels, the 32,200 dwt Rubymar (564 feet/172 meters in length) would be the first vessel to sink. Reports have alternately linked it to UK ownership although the manager is based in Lebanon.
While most of the leading shipping firms have diverted vessels away from the Red Sea region, many ships are still operating in the area. This week the Houthi leader Abdul-Maliks said “We have a big surprise that the enemies do not expect, and we will indeed start it." He wrote on social media of the “greater effectiveness” of the operations while the group has vowed to continue in support of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
British ship M/V Rubymar, crippled by Houthi strikes, sinks in Red Sea
Mike Heuer Sat, March 2, 2024 Cargo ship M/V Rubymar, carrying Ukrainian grain, is shown at anchor in the Black Sea in November 2022. The ship sank on Saturday after being crippled by Houthi attacks in February.
File photo by Tolga Bozoglu/EPA-EFE
March 2 (UPI) -- The British bulk carrier M/V Rubymar, crippled by fire from Houthi rebels last month, sank in international waters in the Red Sea on Saturday, Yemeni government officials announced.
The ship's sinking "will cause an environmental catastrophe" affecting Yemen's territorial waters and the Red Sea, Yemen's ad hoc Crisis Management Cell said in a statement reported by Turkey's Anadolu Agency.
The vessel was carrying 41,000 tons of fertilizer, and its sinking raises worsens what the U.S. Central Command called an environmental disaster caused by the "unprovoked and reckless attack by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists."
The ship was attacked in a missile strike launched by Houthi militants on Feb. 18, which caused a large oil slick and concerns that its cargo of fertilizer would create a catastrophe.
The Rubymar took on water following the attack and was awaiting a tow to the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah before sinking overnight. Its crew had abandoned the ship following the missile attack.
The Houthi militants are based in Yemen and are targeting cargo ships owned or operated by Israeli firms or that are carrying supplies to or from Israel in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea since the onset of the war in Gaza.
Joint strikes by the United States and Britain against Houthi targets recently caused the Houthis to declare all British and U.S. ships to be legitimate targets for military action.
After the Rubymar was attacked, officials in and around the ports of Aden and Djibouti refused to accept it. Oil spill, fertilizer leak from sinking of cargo ship highlight risks to Red Sea from Houthi attacks
JOSHUA GOODMAN Sat, March 2, 2024
In this satellite image provided by Planet Labs, the Belize-flagged bulk carrier Rubymar is seen in the southern Red Sea near the Bay el-Mandeb Strait leaking oil after an attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Despite a month of U.S.-led airstrikes, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels remain capable of launching significant attacks. This week, they seriously damaged a ship in a crucial strait and apparently downed an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)More
MIAMI (AP) — A vibrant fishing industry, some of the world’s largest coral reefs, desalination plants supplying millions with drinking water. They're all at risk from large amounts of fertilizer and oil spilled into the Red Sea by the sinking of a cargo ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Officials on Saturday said the M/V Rubymar, a Belize-flagged vessel reportedly carrying 22,000 metric tons of toxic fertilizer, sunk after taking on water in the Feb. 18 attack.
Even before plunging to the ocean’s depths, the vessel had been leaking heavy fuel that triggered an 18-mile (30 km) oil slick through the waterway, which is critical for cargo and energy shipments heading to Europe.
Since November, the Houthi rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israel’s offensive in Gaza. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, has warned in recent days of an “environmental disaster” in the making. That has less to do with the size of the vessel’s hazardous cargo than the unique natural features and usage of the Red Sea, said Ian Ralby, founder of maritime security firm I.R. Consilium.
Aggravating concerns over the Rubymar's sinking is the Red Sea’s unique circular water patterns, which operate essentially as a giant lagoon, with water moving northward, toward the Suez Canal in Egypt, during winter and outward to the Gulf of Aden in summer.
“What spills in the Red Sea, stays in the Red Sea,” said Ralby. “There are many ways it can be harmed.”
Saudi Arabia for decades has been building the world’s largest network of desalination plants, with entire cities like Jeddah relying on the facilities for almost all of their drinking water. Oil can clog intake systems and inflict costly damage on saltwater conversion.
The Red Sea is also a vital source of seafood, especially in Yemen, where fishing was the second largest export after oil before the current civil war between the Houthis and Yemen’s Sunni government.
Ralby has been studying the Red Sea’s vulnerabilities in relation to what could've been a far worse maritime tragedy: the FSO Safer, a decrepit oil tanker that had been moored for years off the coast of Yemen with more than 1 million barrels of crude until its cargo was successfully transferred to another vessel last year.
While the amount of oil the Rubymar leaked is unknown, Ralby estimates it couldn’t have exceeded 7,000 barrels. While that’s a mere fraction of the Safer’s load, it’s significantly more oil than was spilled by a Japanese-owed vessel, the Wakashio, that wrecked near Mauritius in 2020, causing millions of dollars in damages and harming the livelihood of thousands of fishermen.
Harder to grasp is the risk from the 22,000 metric tons of fertilizer that port authorities in Djibouti, adjacent to where the Rubymar sank, said the ship was transporting at the time of the attack. If the Rubymar remains intact underwater, the impact will be a slow trickle instead of a massive release, said Ralby.
Fertilizer fuels the proliferation of algae blooms like the ones seen every year in the Texas Gulf Coast as a result of far larger nutrient runoff from farms, urban lawns and industrial waste. The result is the loss of oxygen, asphyxiation of marine life and the creation of so-called “dead zones.”
At risk in the Red Sea are some of the world’s most colorful and extensive coral reefs. Several are major tourist draws and increasingly a subject of great scientific research owing to their apparent resilience to warming seawater temperatures that have destroyed reefs elsewhere in the ocean.
However manageable the fallout from the Rubymar’s sinking, Ralby worries that it could be a forerunner of even worse to come. He said most of the container ships pulled out from the Red Sea shipping lanes since the Houthis began targeting ships in the area over the Israel-Hamas war. What remains, he said, are poorly maintained vessels, oil tankers and bulk carriers that pose far greater environmental risks.
“With fewer and fewer container ships to target, the odds of another spill with massive environmental impact has increased enormously,” said Ralby.
___ British cargo ship sinks after Houthi attack in Red Sea
Our Foreign Staff Sat, March 2, 2024 The Rubymar was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertiliser when it came under attack - Yemeni Al-Joumhouriya TV HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A British-owned cargo ship sank in the Red Sea after it was damaged in a Houthi attack last month, Yemen’s government said on Saturday.
The government statement said the Rubymar sank on Friday night and warned of an “environmental catastrophe”.
The ship was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertiliser when it came under attack, the US military’s Central Command previously said.
Yemen’s Houthi militants have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea region, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
On Monday, a Yemeni government team visited the Rubymar, a Belize-flagged, UK-owned cargo ship, and said it was partially submerged and could sink within a couple of days.
The US military previously said the attack had significantly damaged the freighter and caused an 18-mile oil slick.
The United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the sinking on Saturday.
Houthi attacks have prompted shipping firms to divert vessels on to the longer, more expensive route around southern Africa. They have also stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread, destabilising the wider Middle East.
The United States and Britain began striking Houthi targets in Yemen in January in retaliation for the attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government is based in the southern port of Aden while the Houthis control much of the north and other large centres.
Ship hit earlier by Yemen's Houthi rebels sinks in Red Sea
Euronews Sat, March 2, 2024 Ship hit earlier by Yemen's Houthi rebels sinks in Red Sea
A ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after days of taking on water, officials said Saturday.
It is the first vessel to be fully destroyed as part of their campaign over Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The sinking of the Rubymar comes as shipping through the crucial waterway for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East to Europe has been affected by the Houthi attacks.
Already, many ships have turned away from the route.
The sinking could see further detours and higher insurance rates put on vessels plying the waterway — potentially driving up global inflation and affecting aid shipments to the region.
The Belize-flagged Rubymar had been drifting northward after being struck by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on Feb. 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The vessel had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, though plans had been made to try and tow the ship to a safe port.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who had falsely claimed the ship sank almost instantly after the attack, did not immediately acknowledge the ship's sinking.
The US military’s Central Command previously warned the vessel’s cargo of fertilizer, as well as fuel leaking from the ship, could cause ecological damage to the Red Sea.
The Houthis have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014, expelling the government. It fought a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a stalemated war.
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel Hamas war.
Despite over a month of US-led airstrikes, Houthi rebels remain capable of launching significant attacks. That includes the attack on the Rubymar and the downing of a US drone worth tens of millions of dollars.
The Houthis insist their attacks will continue until Israel stops its combat operations in the Gaza Strip, which have enraged the wider Arab world and seen the Houthis gain international recognition.
However, there has been a slowdown in attacks in recent days. The reason for that remains unclear. Ship sunk by Houthis threatens Red Sea environment, Yemen government and US military say
Updated Sat, March 2, 2024 By Mohammad Ghobari
ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) -A UK-owned ship attacked by Houthi militants last month sank in the Red Sea, the U.S. military confirmed on Saturday, as it echoed a warning from Yemen's internationally recognised government that the vessel's cargo of hazardous fertiliser posed a risk to marine life.
The Belize-registered Rubymar is the first vessel lost since the Houthis began targeting commercial ships in November. Those drone and missile assaults have forced shipping firms to divert ships to the longer route around southern Africa, disrupting global trade by delaying deliveries and sending costs higher.
The sinking bulk carrier also "presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway," U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in its statement on social media platform X.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the north of Yemen and other large centres, say their campaign is a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The Houthi attacks have prompted a series of strikes against their positions by the United States and Britain, and have led other navies to send vessels to the region to try to protect the vital Suez Canal trade route.
The Rubymar went down in the southern Red Sea late on Friday or early on Saturday, according to statements from the Yemen government and CENTCOM.
The U.S. military previously said the Feb. 18 missile attack had significantly damaged the bulk vessel and caused an 18-mile (29-km) oil slick. The ship was carrying about 21,000 metric tons of fertiliser, CENTCOM said on Saturday.
Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the foreign minister in Yemen's internationally recognised government in Aden, said in a post on X: "The sinking of the Rubymar is an environmental catastrophe that Yemen and the region have never experienced before.
"It is a new tragedy for our country and our people. Every day we pay the price for the adventures of the Houthi militia ..."
The internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, has been at war with the Houthis since 2014.
MARINE LIFE THREATENED
The release of such large amounts of fertiliser into the Red Sea poses a serious threat to marine life, said Ali Al-Sawalmih, director of the Marine Science Station at the University of Jordan.
The overload of nutrients can stimulate excessive growth of algae, using up so much oxygen that regular marine life cannot survive, said Al-Sawalmih, describing a process called eutrophication.
"An urgent plan should be adopted by countries of the Red Sea to establish monitoring agenda of the polluted areas in the Red Sea as well as adopt a cleanup strategy," he said.
The overall impact depends on how ocean currents deplete the fertiliser and how it is released from the stricken vessel, said Xingchen Tony Wang, assistant professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College.
The ecosystem of the southern Red Sea features pristine coral reefs, coastal mangroves and diverse marine life.
Last year, the area avoided a potential environmental disaster when the United Nations removed more than 1 million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker moored off the Yemen coast. That type of operation may be more difficult in the current circumstances.
The Houthi attacks have stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread, destabilising the wider Middle East.
In a separate report, the UKMTO agency said it had received a report of a ship being attacked 15 nautical miles west of Yemen's port of Mokha.
"The crew took the vessel to anchor and were evacuated by military authorities," the UKMTO said in an advisory note.
Italy's defence ministry also said that one of its naval ships had shot down a drone flying towards it in the Red Sea.
The Houthi Transport Ministry, meanwhile, said there had been a "glitch" in undersea communication cables in the Red Sea as a result of actions by U.S. and British naval vessels. It did not give further details.
(Reporting by Mohammad Ghobari in Aden, Andrew Mills in Doha, Yomb Ehab in Cairo and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Writing by Enas Alashray, Andrew Mills and Mark Potter; Editing by Alison Williams, Giles Elgood and Jamie Freed)
A ship earlier hit by Yemen's Houthi rebels sinks in the Red Sea, the first vessel lost in conflict
JON GAMBRELL Updated Sat, March 2, 2024
This satellite image taken by Planet Labs PBC shows the Belize-flagged ship Rubymar in the Red Sea on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. The Rubymar, earlier attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels, has sunk in the Red Sea after days of taking on water, officials said Saturday, March 2, 2024, the first vessel to be fully destroyed as part of their campaign over Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
(Planet Labs PBC via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after days of taking on water, officials said Saturday, the first vessel to be fully destroyed as part of their campaign over Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Persistent Houthi attacks have already disrupted traffic in the crucial waterway for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. Already, many ships have turned away from the route.
The Belize-flagged Rubymar had been drifting northward after being struck by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on Feb. 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen's internationally recognized government, as well as a regional military official, confirmed the ship sank. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorization was given to speak to journalists about the incident.
The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which watches over Mideast waterways, separately acknowledged the Rubymar's sinking Saturday afternoon.
The U.S. military's Central Command said early Sunday the Rubymar sank at 2:15 a.m. local time Saturday. It released an image of the vessel on its side as it was sinking.
“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” it said in a statement. “As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway.”
The Rubymar’s Beirut-based manager did not respond to a request for comment.
Yemen's exiled government, which has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubymar sank as stormy weather took hold over the Red Sea. The vessel had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, though plans had been made to try and tow the ship to a safe port.
The Iran-backed Houthis had falsely claimed the ship sank almost instantly after the initial attack. Late Saturday, a Houthi leader tried to blame British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over the Rubymar.
“You have an opportunity to salvage the ship M/V Rubymar by guaranteeing ... that the relief trucks agreed upon at that time would enter Gaza,” Mohammed al-Houthi wrote in an online message.
Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, the prime minister of Yemen's internationally recognized government, called the ship's sinking “an unprecedented environmental disaster.”
“It’s a new disaster for our country and our people,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Every day, we pay for the Houthi militia’s adventures, which were not stopped at plunging Yemen into the coup disaster and war.”
Greenpeace also raised concerns about the ship sinking.
“Without immediate action, this situation could escalate into a major environmental crisis,” said Julien Jreissati, program director at Greenpeace MENA.
“As well as any further leaks of fuel oil from the engines, the sinking of the vessel could further breach the hull, allowing water to contact with the thousands of tons of fertilizer, which could then be released into the Red Sea and disrupt the balance of the marine ecosystems, triggering cascading effects throughout the food web.”
The Houthis have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014, expelling the government. The rebels have fought a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a stalemated war.
Satellite pictures analyzed by The Associated Press from Planet Labs PBC showed smaller boats alongside the Rubymar on Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear whose vessels those were. The images showed the Rubymar's stern sinking into the Red Sea but still afloat, mirroring earlier video taken of the vessel.
The private security firm Ambrey separately reported Friday about a mysterious incident involving the Rubymar.
“A number of Yemenis were reportedly harmed during a security incident which took place” on Friday, Ambrey said. It did not elaborate on what that incident involved and no party involved in Yemen's yearslong war claimed any new attack on the vessel.
A satellite image taken Friday from Maxar Technologies showed new blast damage on the Rubymar not previously seen, with no other vessels around it. Additional satellite images taken Saturday by Planet Labs PBC of the area the Rubymar had been in recent days no longer showed the vessel.
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas war. Those vessels have included at least one with cargo bound for Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, and an aid ship later bound for Houthi-controlled territory.
Despite over a month of U.S.-led airstrikes, Houthi rebels have remained capable of launching significant attacks. That includes the attack on the Rubymar and the downing of an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The Houthis insist their attacks will continue until Israel stops its combat operations in the Gaza Strip, which have enraged the wider Arab world and seen the Houthis gain international recognition.
The attacks have also disrupted aid shipments to both Yemen and Sudan, which is gripped by its own monthslong war. In recent days, the International Rescue Committee said it suspended its aid shipments to Port Sudan through the Red Sea over long delays and drastically increased costs.
However, there has been a slowdown in attacks in recent days. The reason for that remains unclear. Between four to eight U.S. and allied warships now patrol the Red Sea on any given day, said Maj. Pete Nguyen, a Defense Department spokesperson.
On Saturday, the Italian Defense Ministry said one of its vessels, the destroyer Caio Duilio, shot down a suspected Houthi drone in self-defense that appeared to be flying toward it.
"The terrorist attacks by the Houthis are a serious violation of international law and an attack on the safety of maritime traffic, on which our economy depends," the ministry said.
___
Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
Only grain ships from Black Sea and for Iran still crossing Red Sea, analysts say
Reuters Fri, March 1, 2024 Satellite image shows cargo ship Rubymar, attacked by Yemen's Houthis, according to U.S. military, on the Red Sea
HAMBURG (Reuters) - Grain ships originating from the Black Sea or bound for Iran are about the only ones still sailing through the Red Sea as Houthi militants continue to attack vessels in the area, analysts said on Friday.
The attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted global shipping since November and forced firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
"Just about all (dry bulk grain) vessels going from the Americas and western Europe are avoiding the Red Sea, the only exception is vessels going to Iran, they're still taking the Red Sea route when shorter," said Ishan Bhanu, lead agricultural commodities analyst at data provider and analysts Kpler.
"All vessels we are tracking going from the Black Sea to Asia are going through the Red Sea, almost without exception," he added.
Grain transit through the Suez Canal hit a low of 2.6 million metric tons in February, down from 5.3 million tons in February 2023, Bhanu estimated.
The United States and other countries have sent naval vessels to protect civilian ships while the U.S. and UK have launched air strikes against Houthi forces, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military actions in Gaza.
"The Red Sea naval operation and air strikes have been going on for weeks now and it is pretty obvious that the Houthi attacks cannot be stopped easily by military means or that commercial ships can be given blanket protection," said one grain trader booking vessels to export cargoes from Europe.
"Many ship owners are still willing to accept the danger to their ships and vessels still can be booked for Red Sea sailings. Chinese purchases of Ukrainian corn recently are expected to transit the Red Sea."
(Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Lebanon LGBTQ+ activists say attacks are distraction from country’s problems
Community reports shift from uneasy tolerance to being scapegoated for socioeconomic crisis
When the Christian extremists of Soldiers of God menaced a bar in Beirut’s nightlife district during a drag show, their members had a chilling message for patrons: “We have warned you a hundred times … this is just the beginning.”
The group, whose members sometimes carry weapons, have repeatedly threatened places associated with Lebanon’s LGBTQ+ community, accusing them of “promoting homosexuality” amid an increase in homophobic rhetoric from the country’s politicians.
Lebanon has long been considered a bastion of relative tolerance compared with other countries in the Middle East, with gay-friendly clubs, bars and civil society organisations existing in pockets of the capital.
Spaces of relative safety flourished despite growing pressure from conservative elements across Lebanese society. However, LGBTQ+ people say they have noticed a shift from an uneasy tolerance to being scapegoated for the country’s problems.
Instead of fixing the cratered economy or demanding justice in the aftermath of a deadly blast in Beirut’s port, some of Lebanon’s more conservative figures have instead taken aim at LGBTQ+ people.
A soldier stands guard at the scene of an explosion at Beirut’s port in 2020.
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
The activist Tarek Zeidan scoffed when asked how he felt about politicians’ newfound zeal for targeting his community. “Who destroyed the Lebanese family – was it us? Or was it the economic policies that cause the complete dissolution of the Lebanese family, many now forced to leave the country to work elsewhere.
“Who has destroyed the fabric of society? Us, who have been part of society since its inception, or them?”
Zeidan, the executive director of the LGBTQ+ rights group Helem, added: “This is the manufacturing of a moral panic in order to justify a crackdown, and to deviate public attention away from their unpopular policies.”
The leader of the powerful Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, has used several recent speeches to criticise the LGBTQ+ community, stating that gay people should be killed, accusing civil society groups of promoting homosexuality and describing the community as an “imminent threat to society”.
In the aftermath, Human Rights Watch reported a rise in the number of online threats, prompting the dating app Grindr to take immediate action to protect users.
Lebanon’s acting culture minister, Mohammad Mortada, meanwhile led a charge against the release of the summer blockbuster movie Barbie, which has grossed $1bn worldwide and delighted audiences in other parts of the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
He said the film should be banned for “promoting homosexuality and sexual transformation” as well as “contradicting religious values and morality”. Barbie is due to be released in Lebanon on Thursday.
The veteran activist Georges Azzi, who co-founded Helem as well as the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality and lives in exile after harassment over his advocacy, called Nasrallah’s statements a way for the group “to stage an attack on our society, and to create a war they can win”.
He sees Nasrallah’s comments as a way to distract the public, notably from the anniversary of a catastrophic blast in Beirut’s port three years ago that killed more than 220 people, injured thousands and destroyed swaths of the capital. “Any subject that can distract people from this, they’ll take it,” he said.
Nasrallah has repeatedly criticised gay people along with opponents of child marriage in past years, claiming homosexuals are “destroying societies” and groups working to combat early marriage are “unknowingly serving the devil”.
Members of the LGBT+ community wave rainbow flags as they sail along the famous Raoucheh (Pigeon Rock) landmark in Beirut to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Photograph: Marwan Tahtah/AFP/Getty Images
His recent comments have prompted a fresh wave of efforts by religious conservatives from multiple faiths, all claiming to defend traditional family values.
A thinktank linked to Hezbollah published a draft law that would prohibit mentioning homosexuality in all institutions including the media as well as demanding prison sentences for same-sex relations, while a Sunni MP from the northern city of Tripoli said he was preparing his own bill to criminalise homosexuality.
The Maronite Christian patriarch recently oversaw a ministerial gathering attended by the caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati, focusing on the threats to the traditional family and warning against a “narrative cloaked in modernity, liberty and human rights rhetoric, which contradicts religious and ethical principles”.
Mortada – who tried to ban Barbie – has taken to social media to repeated proclaim his opposition to what he termed “promoting” homosexuality and sparred with a small group of progressive MPs who proposed repealing a vague clause in the Lebanese penal code used to criminalise homosexuality, punishable with up to a year in prison.
Activists and rights groups point to what they say instead are the real problems the country is facing. Since 2019, most Lebanese citizens have been locked out of their savings amid a paralysing banking and financial crisis. Political gridlock and widespread dissatisfaction with parliamentarians reign, while the country has been without a president for almost a year.
“Lebanon is drowning,” said Ramzi Kaiss of Human Rights Watch. “Throughout this year, the government and Lebanese authorities have distracted from their responsibility to handle this crisis and the need to implement badly needed reforms, both in the judiciary and the economy, by using a scapegoat. In the spring this was refugees and now it’s against LGBTQ+ people.”
He added: “This is in the context of a crumbling state, a massive economic crisis, crises in education and healthcare and the prison system. But none of this is a problem for the government, instead we have politicians and public officials using scapegoats as a way of diverting from the real problems.”
Zeidan drew a parallel between the escalation of homophobia in Lebanon and tactics used by governments across the Middle East. An Iraqi MP recently proposed a bill that could cause those convicted for same-gender relations to receive the death penalty, and imprison anyone accused of “imitating women” for up to three years.
“It can be easy political dividends to manufacture these kinds of moral panics,” he said. “It gets eyes off the problems with electricity, with water, the devaluation of the lira and the crisis that Lebanon is to talk about an unseen intangible threat of deviants and homosexuality that are coming for your children.”
Saturday, August 05, 2023
Lebanon: Thousands march demanding justice over Beirut blast
Exactly three years after a massive explosion killed hundreds and wounded thousands in Beirut, nobody has been held legally accountable. Families of those who died marched to mark the anniversary of the tragedy.
Thousands of protesters marched in Lebanon on Friday to commemorate three years after one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history tore through the port of Beirut.
Many protesters wore black and some carried photographs of their loved ones who died as a result of the blast.
They chanted "We will not forget!" as they marched through the Lebanese capital to the port where the explosion happened.
Thousands of people marched towards the port of Beirut
"Three years have passed and you have been turning a deaf ear to this request and this hurts a lot," Mireille Bazergy Khoury, whose was killed by the blast, told the Associated Press.
"This crime is not a Lebanese issue. Victims are all of all nationalities. Please take action."
At least 236 people died from the explosion, according to an independent count
Hassan Ammar/AP/picture alliance
Paul Naggear, who lost his 3-year-old daughter in the blast, also told the AFP news agency that he has "not been able to grieve for three years".
"We will keep demanding justice until our very last breath," he said.
At least 236 died as a result of the blast according to Lebanese rights group Maan. This figure is higher than the official government death toll of 191.
Another 6,000 people were wounded by the blast, which also caused billions of dollars' worth of damage around Beirut. No justice after three years
Nobody has been held accountable for the disaster, and an investigation into the officials who apparently allowed hundreds of tons of highly flammable ammonium nitrate to be improperly stored for years is at a virtual standstill.
There have however been repeated attempts, so far abortive or halted, to initiate prosecutions against several individuals.
The probe, currently led by Judge Tarek Bitar, has been stalled since late 2021 by a slew of legal complaints filed against him by some of the suspects, including current and former officials.
Lebanese groups, international organizations, survivors of the blast, and families of victims sent an appeal to the UN Rights Council, saying that on the third anniversary of the explosion, "we are no closer to justice and accountability for the catastrophe."
"The political class have used every tool at their disposal — both legal and extra-legal — to undermine, obstruct, and block the domestic investigation into the blast," said Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International's deputy chief for the Mideast and North Africa.
Lebanese groups have appealed to the UN Rights Council over the stalled investigation
Marwan Naamani/dpa/picture alliance
France and the United States echoed calls for a full investigation on Friday.
In a memorial church service held on the eve of the blast anniversary, Lebanon's top Christian cleric, Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, also backed calls for an international fact-finding committee.
"What hurts these families and hurts us the most is the indifference of state officials who are preoccupied with their interests and cheap calculations," Rai said
zc/msh (AFP, Reuters, AP)
Calls for Justice and UN Investigation Three Years After Beirut Explosion
Port of Beirut was leveled in the 2020 explosion butthree years later no one has been held accountable (file photo)
Marking three years since the disastrous Beirut port explosion, the global community is joining with survivors and families of victims in calling for the completion of the investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable. Since the explosion on August 4, 2020, no one has been criminally charged while critics accuse the government and officials of political interference in the domestic investigation of the incident, consequently delaying justice.
In a joint letter sent on Friday, over 300 human rights organizations and individuals affected by the explosion called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to take over the investigation. The letter asked member countries of the council to support the establishment of an international, independent, and impartial fact-finding mission into the 2020 Beirut port explosion.
“We still don’t have access to the truth or justice, three years after the devastating explosion took our daughter, home, and our neighborhoods, in a country plagued by impunity,” said Paul and Tracy Naggear, whose 3-year-old daughter died from the explosion.
The protests by the families are being supported by countries around the world. Mattew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State issued a statement saying, “The United States continues to stand with the people of Lebanon. The victims and their families deserve justice and accountability for those responsible for the disaster and the underlying causes. The lack of progress towards accountability is unacceptable and underscores the need for judicial reform and greater respect for the rule of law in Lebanon.”
While Lebanon initiated a domestic investigation into the explosion in 2021, it has been suspended after a series of legal challenges filed by politicians charged with crimes related to the blast. So far, two investigators appointed to lead the blast’s probe have failed to deliver meaningful results. The first lead investor Judge Fadi Sawan was removed from the case within months. The second Judge Tarek Bitar has faced over 25 lawsuits filed by Lebanese politicians to have him resign, further causing suspension of the blast inquiry.
As the case dragged on, Lebanon’s top prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat in January 2023, ordered the release of all suspects detained in the investigation. Reports have said that some of the victims, now living overseas, have been exploring filing lawsuits in the international courts.
At a UN Human Rights Council meeting in March, 38 countries through a joint statement delivered by Australia condemned the pervasive obstruction of justice in the Beirut port blast. The statement called on Lebanese authorities to abide by their international human rights obligations and safeguard the independence of the judiciary. Five months later, the groups highlight that nothing has progressed.
“UN member states should put forward a resolution at the Human Rights Council establishing a fact-finding mission into the explosion. The findings should make recommendations to Lebanon and the international community on steps that are needed both to remedy the established violations and to ensure such an incident does not recur,” stated the letter sent to UN Human Rights Council.
The August 2020 Beirut port explosion is one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history. It is believed to have claimed at least 220 people, wounded over 7,000, and caused extensive property damage around the port.
The explosion is believed to have stemmed from a fire at a warehouse that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of the highly flammable ammonium nitrate. Previous efforts had identified the dangerous material reporting that it had been improperly stored in the port since 2014. Political leaders and port officials have been accused of ignoring the chemicals and failing to act to reduce the danger to the port and city.
Friday, August 04, 2023
UPDATED
Protesters demand answers on third anniversary of Beirut port explosion
By Eyad Kourdi, Niamh Kennedy and Shirin Faqiri, CNN Published 11:56 PM EDT, Fri August 4, 2023 Protesters in Lebanon mark the three-year anniversary of the August 4, 2020, Beirut port blast.Mohamed Azakir/Reuters CNN —
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Lebanon on Friday to mark the third anniversary of a devastating explosion that ripped through a port in Beirut, demanding accountability from officials over a disaster that remains shrouded in mystery.
Footage from Lebanese media showed demonstrators taking to the streets during a nationwide three-day mourning period and chanting slogans against politicians they accused of obstructing the investigation into the blast, which killed at least 200 people and injured 6,000 on August 4, 2020.
The incident at the Port of Beirut in the country’s capital was one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions. The blast sent up a huge mushroom cloud-shaped shockwave, flipping cars and leveling buildings.
It registered as a 3.3 magnitude earthquake and was felt hundreds of miles away, as far as Cyprus.
Investigators attributed the blast to approximately 2,750 tons of seized ammonium nitrate that had been stored in a port warehouse since 2014.
Relatives hold the pictures of some of those killed in the August 2020 Beirut port blast during a march marking the three-year anniversary of the disaster.Emilie Madi/Reuters
But three years on and what caused the ammonium nitrate to ignite remains a mystery.
An investigation aimed at prosecuting several top politicians for criminal neglect has come to a standstill, with activists and legal experts urging the United Nations to initiate a fact-finding mission to uncover the truth.
Earlier this week, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati declared the anniversary of the blast a nationwide holiday.
He also launched a nationwide three-day mourning period for those affected by the blast.
Grain silos damaged in the 2020 Beirut port blast.Emilie Madi/Reuters
“Public institutions and municipalities should close on Friday, August 4, 2023 in memory of the tragedy of the port explosion as a show of solidarity with the families of the innocent martyrs and the injured and their families,” he said. Enter your email to sign up for CNN's "Meanwhile in the Middle East" Newsletter. close dialog
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged support for the former French colony.
In a tweet Friday, Macron recalled his visit to Lebanon days after the explosion, saying he was “at the side” of the Lebanese people.
“Lebanon was not alone. It still isn’t. You can count on France, our solidarity, our friendship,” the French leader said.
Last month, Macron appointed his former foreign minister, Jean Yves Le Drian, to the role of special envoy to Lebanon as part of France’s effort to end the political deadlock in the country.
Beirut port blast: three years on, victims still await accountability
Story by Reuters • Smoke rises from the site of an explosion in Beirut
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon on Friday marks the third anniversary of the Beirut port explosion which killed at least 220 people, wounded thousands, and damaged swathes of the city.
Despite the devastation, an investigation has brought no senior official to account. Here is a summary of what happened and how the investigation has been stymied: THE EXPLOSION
The blast is thought to have been set off by a fire at a warehouse just after 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Aug. 4, 2020, detonating hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate.
Originally bound for Mozambique aboard a Russian-leased ship, the chemicals had been at the port since 2013, when they were unloaded during an unscheduled stop.
No one claimed the shipment, tangled in a legal dispute over unpaid fees and defects.
The amount that blew up was one fifth of the 2,754 tonnes unloaded in 2013, the FBI concluded, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing.
The blast sent a mushroom cloud over Beirut, and was felt 250 km (155 miles) away in Cyprus.
WHO KNEW ABOUT THE CHEMICALS?
Many Lebanese officials, including then-President Michel Aoun and then-Prime Minister Hassan Diab, knew of the cargo.
Aoun said after the blast he had told security chiefs to "do what is necessary" after learning of the chemicals. Diab has said his conscience is clear.
Human Rights Watch said in a 2021 report that high-level security and government officials "foresaw the significant threat to life ... and tacitly accepted the risk of deaths occurring".
Families of victims of August 4, 2020 Beirut port blast attends a mass on the eve of the third anniversary of the explosion
Ruling factions have big sway over the judiciary, which Lebanon's top judge acknowledged in 2022 in general criticism of the problem.
Judge Fadi Sawan appointed by the justice minister to investigate the blast charged three ex-ministers and Diab with negligence in December 2020. But a court removed him from the case in February 2021 after two ex-ministers - Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeitar - complained he had overstepped his powers. Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai holds shakes hands with a family member of one of the victims of August 4, 2020 Beirut port blast, on the eve of the third anniversary of the explosion
Sawan's successor Tarek Bitar sought to interrogate senior figures including Khalil and Zeitar. All deny wrongdoing.
Suspects' demands for Bitar's removal over alleged bias and mistakes have prompted several suspensions of the investigation.
The judges meant to rule on those complaints retired in 2022 and no successors were appointed, leaving the probe in limbo.
In early 2023, Bitar unexpectedly resumed his probe and charged more officials including Abbas Ibrahim, a top security official at the time of the blast.
However, Lebanon's top public prosecutor charged Bitar for allegedly exceeding his powers and ordered the release of people detained since the blast, including the former head of the Beirut port authority, putting the probe on hold again.
HEZBOLLAH'S ROLE
Iran-backed Hezbollah has dismissed public accusations it controls the port or stored arms there and it campaigned against Bitar as he sought to question its allies.
In 2021, a Hezbollah official warned Bitar the group would "uproot" him, and its supporters marched in an anti-Bitar protest that prompted deadly violence in Beirut.
Smoke rises from the partially-collapsed Beirut grain silos, damaged in the August 2020 port blast, in Beirut
Hezbollah has also accused the United States of meddling in the probe. The U.S. ambassador has denied this.
capsized ship is seen at Beirut port OVERSEAS ACTION
Victims have turned to foreign courts.
Last year, some filed a $250 million claim in the United States against a company linked to the ship.
In June, a London court awarded nearly $1 million in damages to victims. But it was a symbolic victory because the identity of the beneficial owner of a British-registered firm that had sold the chemicals was not disclosed, making it unclear who would pay.
(This story has been corrected to change the judge's name to 'Tarek Bitar' from 'Fadi Sawan' in paragraph 13)
(Writing by Tom Perry, Timour Azhari, Maya Gebeily; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Lebanon: Unacceptable lack of justice, truth and reparation three years after Beirut blast
Ahead of the three-year anniversary of the catastrophic explosion in Beirut’s port that killed at least 235 people and damaged more than half of the city, Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:
“The Lebanese authorities have had three years to investigate what caused the devastating explosion in Beirut’s port and to hold those suspected of criminal responsibility to account. Yet to this day, absolutely no one has been held responsible for the tragedy that unfolded on 4 August 2020.
Instead, the authorities have used every tool at their disposal to shamelessly undermine and obstruct the domestic investigation to shield themselves from accountability – and perpetuate the culture of impunity in the country.
The international community has repeatedly condemned the authorities’ blatant political interference in the domestic investigation, including in a joint statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this year. Today, over 300 Lebanese and international civil society groups, as well as survivors and victims’ families, are once again appealing to the Human Rights Council to urgently establish an international fact-finding mission to investigate the causes of the Beirut Blast and identify those responsible for the catastrophe.”
“The Lebanese authorities have had three years to investigate what caused the devastating explosion in Beirut’s port and to hold those suspected of criminal responsibility to account. Yet to this day, absolutely no one has been held responsible for the tragedy that unfolded on 4 August 2020.Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Background:
The domestic investigation into the Beirut Blast has been suspended since December 2021 due to a series of legal challenges filed against the lead investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, and other judges involved in the case by politicians who have been targeted by the investigation.
When Judge Bitar tried to resume the investigation in January 2023, he was slapped with a lawsuit and a travel ban by Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oweidat, who was charged in the port investigation. Oweidat ordered the release of all detained individuals suspected of involvement in the explosion. At least one defendant has since fled the country.
Oweidat’s actions have been deemed illegal by the Beirut Bar Association and the Lebanese Judges Association. However, since then, there has been no progress with the investigation yet to resume.
In March 2023, Australia delivered a joint statement on behalf of 38 states at the United Nations Human Rights Council expressing concern that the domestic investigation into the explosion had been “hampered by systemic obstruction, interference, intimidation, and a political impasse.” The statement called on the Lebanese authorities to abide by their international human rights obligations and safeguard the independence of the judiciary, and to carry out a swift, independent, impartial, credible and transparent investigation.
Three years on, survivors seek answers as Lebanon remembers Beirut blast
Probe on the disaster that killed more than 220 people is virtually at a standstill, with original lead investigator Fadi Sawan dismissed from his job after he charged top government officials.
The massive August 4, 2020 blast at Beirut's port destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring at least 6,500. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters File Photo)
Lebanon on Friday marks three years since one of history's biggest non-nuclear explosions rocked the capital, Beirut. Yet nobody has been held to account as political and legal considerations continue to undermine investigation.
On August 4, 2020, the massive blast at Beirut's port destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring at least 6,500.
Authorities said the disaster was triggered by a fire in a warehouse, where hundreds of tonnes of industrial chemical ammonium nitrate, originally bound for Mozambique, had been haphazardly stored for years.
Three years on, the probe is virtually at a standstill, leaving survivors still yearning for answers and wondering who knew about the existence of the stockpile of explosive materials.
The main activist group representing families of those killed has called for a protest march on Friday afternoon, converging on the port.
"This is a day of commemoration, mourning and protest against the Lebanese state that politicises our cause and interferes in the judiciary," said Rima al-Zahed, whose brother was killed in the explosion.
"The judiciary is shackled, justice is out of reach, and the truth is shrouded," she said.
The blast struck amid an economic collapse that the World Bank has dubbed one of the worst in recent history and which is widely blamed on a governing elite accused of corruption and mismanagement.
Since its early days, the probe into the explosion has faced a slew of political and legal challenges.
In December 2020, lead investigator Fadi Sawan filed charges against top government officials, but his action led to his dismissal instead. 'Culture of impunity'
His successor, Tarek Bitar, unsuccessfully asked lawmakers to lift parliamentary immunity for MPs who were formerly ministers. Now he is also facing accusations of bias and dismissal calls.
The interior ministry has refused to take action on arrest warrants which the lead investigator has issued.
Adding to the mystery were revelations that about 80 percent of the explosive chemicals are still missing, and that only a fifth of the 2,754 tonnes originally seized and unloaded in 2013 blew up during the disaster.
In December 2021, Bitar suspended his probe after a barrage of lawsuits, mainly from politicians he had summoned on charges of negligence.
But in a surprise move this January, Bitar resumed investigations after a 13-month hiatus, charging eight new suspects including high-level officials.
In response, he was charged with insubordination and "usurping power", and ordered the release of all those detained over the blast.
Bitar has refused to step aside, yet has not set foot inside Beirut's justice ministry building for months.
"Work (on the investigation) is ongoing," said a legal expert with knowledge of the case, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Bitar is determined to keep his promise to deliver justice for victims' families, the expert added.
A view shows the partially collapsed grain silos, damaged in the August 4, 2020 Beirut port blast as Lebanon marks third anniversary of the explosion on Friday.
(Issam Abdallah/Reuters)
'We will get the truth'
Some victims have turned to foreign courts.
Last year, some filed a $250 million claim in the United States against a company linked to the ship.
In June, a London court awarded nearly $1 million in damages to victims. But it was a symbolic victory because the identity of the beneficial owner of a British-registered firm that had sold the chemicals was not disclosed, making it unclear who would pay.
Zahed, whose brother died in the blast, said: "The truth does not die so long as there is someone to demand it.
"We believe that we will get the truth."
On Thursday, 300 individuals and organisations including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International renewed a call for the United Nations to establish a fact-finding mission, a demand local officials have repeatedly rejected.
"International action is needed to break the culture of impunity in Lebanon," HRW's Ramzi Kaiss said in a statement.
Amnesty's Aya Majzoub accused authorities of using "every tool at their disposal to shamelessly undermine and obstruct the domestic investigation to shield themselves from accountability".
Family members of a firefighter who was killed during August 2020 Beirut port explosion react during a memorial ceremony, at a fire station in the Lebanese capital on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
SOURCE: TRTWORLD AND AGENCIES
Beirut blast 3 years on
Still seeking justice in Lebanon
Three years after the explosion in Beirut port that killed nearly 220 people and displaced tens of thousands from their homes, the family of one of the youngest victims is still seeking answers and fighting for justice. By Diana Hodalip
As 4 August comes around again, so do the memories for the Naggear family. On that date in 2020, the windows in the Naggears' apartment, located in the Beirut neighbourhood of Gemmayzeh, just up the hill from the port, shattered and burst following a huge explosion in the Lebanese capital.
Tracy Naggear and 3-year-old Alexandra were badly injured. A few days later the preschooler, nicknamed Lexou, died in hospital. "We are not good. It's been three years now and it's as if nothing has happened, as if our daughter was just taken like this by chance, and nobody cares," Paul Naggear says.
The child was one of the youngest victims of the port explosion, which eventually claimed the lives of more than 220 people. Thousands more were injured and 300,000 people were displaced after 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up in what was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. The ammonium nitrate had been improperly stored in a Beirut port warehouse for six years.
A life in pieces: on 4 August 2020, the windows in the Naggears' apartment, located in the Beirut neighbourhood of Gemmayzeh, just up the hill from the port, burst following a huge explosion in the Lebanese capital. Tracy Naggear and 3-year-old Alexandra were badly injured. A few days later the preschooler, nicknamed Lexou, died in hospital. "We are not good. It's been three years now and it's as if nothing has happened, as if our daughter was just taken like this by chance, and nobody cares"
Blast investigation stalled
For a long time, the Naggears found it impossible to return to their apartment in Beirut because of the emotional pain, fear and memories; everything about the place hurt for them.
The Naggears eventually moved back into their Beirut apartment at the end of 2022. "We've been trying to put our life back together for a while," says Paul Naggear, an architect. "And I think we're doing better now." The couple are still fighting for accountability for Alexandra, though.
Hardly a day passes when the Naggears don't meet with the relatives of other victims also engaged in the same fight. "You have to find your own ways to get justice," Naggear says. "It's not a human right in Lebanon. So it's very, very tough for us to bear."
Blaming political elite
Three years on, nobody has been held accountable, despite the fact that there is evidence that Lebanese officials and politicians were implicated in the root causes of the explosion. "Unfortunately the investigation into the port explosion has been suspended for a long time in Lebanon," says Lina Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University in London and an associate fellow at Chatham House.
Political elite seek to suppress inquiry led by Judge Tarek Bitar: the investigation was suspended in 2021, after complaints were filed against Bitar by officials summoned for questioning. "Judge Tarek Bitar is being attacked because he was indicting and incriminating members of the political elite in the August 4 blast," says Diana Menhem, head of Kulluna Irada, an advocacy group for political reform
Khatib is talking about the investigation into the explosion led by Judge Tarek Bitar. Families like the Naggears were optimistic that Bitar, who comes from Akkar in the north of Lebanon and who had a reputation for being incorruptible, would help them. Lebanon doesn't have a good track record of holding criminals to account, but Bitar's investigations had seemed to be moving in the right direction. In a rare February 2021 interview with the French-language Beirut newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour, Bitar had said the investigation was a "sacred" cause for him.
But there have been many obstacles for Bitar. The investigation was suspended in 2021, after complaints were filed against Bitar by officials who had been summoned for questioning. However, the complaints could not be heard at the court of cassation because the relevant judges retired and were not replaced.
In October 2021, the case caused protests in Beirut, some of which became violent. "Judge Tarek Bitar is being attacked because he was clearly indicting and incriminating members of the political elite in the August 4 blast," says Diana Menhem, head of Kulluna Irada, an advocacy group for political reform that is supported financially by Lebanese people from both inside and outside the country.
"The investigation is stalled because of politically motivated judicial delays that aim to absolve members of the political establishment from accountability," Khatib says. "Leading political figures in Lebanon from across the spectrum do not want to see the investigation yield fruit. And that is because most people who have links with the port explosion, whether directly or indirectly, happen to be from this circle of political leaders."
Victims' families still pushing for accountability: attempts to restart the investigation in January 2023 were blocked by Lebanon's top prosecutor Ghassan Oweidat, who issued a travel ban against Judge Bitar and ordered everyone detained in connection with the investigation be released. "Such delays aim to absolve members of the political establishment from accountability," says Chatham House fellow Lina Khatib. "Leading political figures in Lebanon from across the spectrum do not want to see the investigation yield fruit"
Paul Naggear also hopes that Bitar can continue his investigations without being targeted. "That would be terrible," he says.
Families of victims, rights groups and some politicians are pursuing multiple routes in their quest for justice. For example, they have requested that the United Nations set up a special international investigation into the exposition.
"An international investigation could establish the facts and circumstances, including the root causes, of the explosion", Human Rights Watch wrote in February 2023. "It could also establish state and individual responsibility and support justice efforts and reparations for the victims".
Another possibility for justice involves civil lawsuits against the responsible parties. One in the United Kingdom has already been successful. It charged a London-registered chemicals trading firm, Savaro Ltd., that was suspected of having chartered the 2013 shipment of ammonium nitrate that ended up exploding in Beirut in 2020. In February 2023, a British court decided in favour of the three families of victims who were involved.
"The ruling gives us hope because it's been the only first step towards getting some justice in this case," Naggear says.
There may be more to come. The Swiss foundation Accountability Now and other victims' families have filed a lawsuit against the U.S.-Norwegian geophysical services group TGS. The company reportedly owns the firm that sub-chartered the ship carrying the ammonium nitrate back in 2012. The lawsuit was filed in Texas.
A failed state in so many ways: with a sectarian political system fraught with cronyism and corruption and an economy that has collapsed as a result, the outlook for Lebanon is bleak. "Lebanon is currently in a state of despair," Khatib continues. "People have almost lost hope that the state will be able to deliver on even their most basic needs"
'State of despair'
Three years ago, Lebanon's relatively well-off middle class might have been able to focus on pursuing justice. But now many Lebanese people are fighting for economic survival. "Lebanon is currently in a state of despair," Khatib says. "People have almost lost hope that the state will be able to deliver on even their most basic needs."
The Naggears feel that way. They have since welcomed a baby son to their family, but they no longer feel safe in Lebanon and are trying to spend as much time as possible in nearby Cyprus. They say they will keep fighting for justice for their lost daughter, even though they know that will be difficult to achieve as long as the corruption and cronyism in Lebanon's political system continues. They also still want to win more supporters to their side in their struggle.
"Of course, we will continue our fight indefinitely," Naggear says, "until we get truth and justice for our daughter."
Victims, their families deserve justice and accountability for
those responsible, says Statement Department
spokesperson
Firdevs Bulut Kartal |04.08.2023 -
TORONTO
The "lack of progress" towards ensuring accountability for the devastating explosion that upended Beirut three years ago "is unacceptable," the US State Department said on Friday.
"The lack of progress towards accountability is unacceptable and underscores the need for judicial reform and greater respect for the rule of law in Lebanon," spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
"The victims and their families deserve justice and accountability for those responsible for the disaster and the underlying causes," he added.
Beirut was rocked by a massive explosion on Aug. 4, 2020 that killed more than 200 people and injured 6,500 others. About 50,000 housing units suffered damage, with property damage estimated to cost $15 billion. It is considered to be the largest non-nuclear explosion ever recorded.
Lebanon's highest court decided in January to release all suspects arrested as part of the investigation into the explosion. Ghassan Oweidat, Lebanon's chief prosecutor, went on to file charges against the judge leading the investigation into the massive blast.
The actions were taken two days after judge Tarek Bitar resumed his inquiry into the deadly blast following a 13-month suspension prompted by political resistance to his attempts to question top officials.
