the Prime Minister’s Easter 2024 message
 
March message from Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek
 
A solemn funeral to the late Nazih Nicolas in Sydney
 
One Year of Repair, Reform and Action, and much more to do.
 
Kuwait deplores Israeli occupation's seizure of Palestinian land
 
Patriarch Duwaihi's beatification ceremony to be held in Lebanon
 
One Year of Repair, Reform and Action, and much more to do across Canterbury
 
Have your say on a planning proposal in Carlingford
 
Protecting religious institutions
 
AFIC President, stated that AFIC strongly condemns any act of violence and terrorism and stands in solidarity with the Russian people
 
The community’s hopes and expectations of a Muslim public figure
 
Mr Keating has been a public critic of the AUKUS security pact,...”.
 
Push grows for UN to look into Beirut Port blast on second anniversary of tragedy

“This tragedy constituted one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in recent memory …” a joint statement by six experts.

“No-one is above the law.” Lebanon President Michel Aoun

“To turn the page and rebuild themselves, the Lebanese need to know the truth.” French President Emmanuel Macron

Australian mother and UN worker Sarah Copland asking Australian PM Anthony Albanese to push the world body for a fully independent investigation into the blast.




Push grows for UN to look into Beirut Port blast on second anniversary of tragedy

On the second anniversary of the deadly Beirut Port explosion, Lebanese President General Michel Aoun affirmed his commitment to achieving justice for families of the victims. On his Twitter account, Gen Aoun wrote: “Two years after the tragedy of August 4, I share their grief and the families of the injured, and the suffering of the detainees. I assure them of my commitment to achieving justice based on a complete truth revealed by an honest judicial process that goes to the end away from any fraud, discretion or injustice, to hold accountable all those who are proven to be involved because no-one is above the law.” The families of the Beirut Fire Brigade martyrs demanded the intervention of the UN and the formation of a credible commission to follow up on the investigation. Pope Francis also expressed his solidarity with the Lebanese people.

Australian mother and UN worker Sarah Copland is also asking Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to push the world body for a fully independent investigation into the blast.

Sarah lost her two-year-old son Isaac to the blast; he was the youngest, and the only Australian, victim.

 UN experts, NGOs urge international probe into Beirut blast | Arab News

INDEPENDENT experts from the United Nations and prominent human rights organisations have called on the Human Rights Council to launch an international investigation “without delay” into the Beirut Port explosion on the eve of the second anniversary of the disaster.

On August 4, 2020, a huge explosion in the port killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6500 others, causing widespread damage. The source of the blast, according to the authorities, was large quantities of ammonium nitrate stored without preventive measures and which caught fire, whose cause remains unknown. It later emerged that officials at several levels were aware of the danger and did nothing.

“This tragedy constituted one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in recent memory, yet the world did nothing to find out why it occurred,” six experts said in a joint statement.

“On the second anniversary of the explosion, we are disappointed, because people in Lebanon are still waiting for justice, and we call for an international investigation to be opened without delay.”

The statement was signed by the likes of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial or arbitrary executions, Maurice Tidbal Benz, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment David Boyd, and the independent expert on human rights and international solidarity, Oberoi Okafor.

The local investigation led by Judge Tariq Al-Bitar has not yet finished. The suspension of the investigation since the end of 2021, as a result of lawsuits filed against Al-Bitar by defendants including current MPs and former ministers, is fueling the anger of the people.

The investigation raises a political point with major forces, most notably Hezbollah, objecting to Al-Bitar’s work and accusing him of “politicising” the case.

With the suspension of the domestic investigation, the experts convey “the appeal of the victims’ families to the international community to conduct an independent investigation under the supervision of the Human Rights Council”, which includes 47 countries that hold regular meetings.

As the council meets next month, 11 international and local human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, called for a resolution “that would send, without delay, an independent and impartial fact-finding mission (...) to determine the responsibility of the state and individuals and support the achievement of justice for the victims.”

Australian mother and UN worker Sarah Copland is also asking Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to push the world body for a fully independent investigation into the blast.

Sarah lost her two-year-old son Isaac to the blast; he was the youngest, and the only Australian, victim.

Mireille Khoury, who lost her 15-year-old son, Elias, in the explosion said in the statement: “It is now clear, more than ever, that the domestic investigation cannot deliver justice.

“It is my right to know why my son was taken from me and who was responsible.”

Families of the victims, local and international organisations have already made similar appeals to the UN during the past two years without response.

The Lebanese Forces bloc, which includes 19 deputies, sent a similar letter to the Human Rights Council, also calling for the formation of an independent mission.

MACRON SPEAKS

French President Emmanuel Macron said: “I reiterate that justice must be done. To turn the page and rebuild themselves, the Lebanese need to know the truth.”

He pointed out, in an interview with a newspaper, that “Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented crisis” and needs justice. “France in this field also will continue to assist Lebanon with its partners”. He also called for the suspended investigation to resume for several months in complete independence and free from any political interference”. He added: “I will never give up; I will not let Lebanon collapse and disappear. Despite the headwinds and difficulties, I will maintain this approach firmly, realistically and pragmatically.”

He believed that the agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund “must be implemented because it constitutes an important stage for restoring investor confidence.”

He also warned that Lebanon “will not tolerate a new conflict on its southern border” with Israel, and noted that “it will be more deadly and destructive than (the war) of 2006”. He stressed that such a conflict “was not in the interest of any Lebanese side. Everyone should realise this. In this regard, it is important not to politicise the very difficult issue of border demarcation with Israel.”

NASRALLAH SPEAKS

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said during his speech at the Ashura Council that Hezbollah holds in the southern suburbs of Beirut: “On the anniversary of the August 4 explosion, we extend our condolences to the families of the martyrs of all nationalities, and to the wounded for recovery.”

He considered that “the most important problem facing the crime of the Beirut Port explosion is the hideous political recruitment against the resistance and its kidnapping from the political and media bodies, and its political use, since the first hours, far from the truth.”

“The propaganda against Hezbollah is still going on, although we have explained and clarified that we have nothing to do with the ship and the nitrates, but there is a determination to use wronged blood in political recruitment, and they are responsible for wasting the truth.”

“The second person responsible for obstructing the investigation is the judge who does not accept to step down after entering the circle of suspicion, and there are officers and political officials who have not been investigated, and there are oppressed in prisons as a result of the judicial path followed.”




 














Copyright 2007 mideast-times.com