[ad_1]
Siniora began his dialogue by answering a question about the latest events in Lebanon and the indictment of the Lebanese investigating judge against the acting Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers, accusing them of negligence and negligence, and said: “The crime of bombing the port of Beirut that took place on August 4 is a crime. It was, as it is one of the three largest non-nuclear explosions that occurred in the world.
He continued: “It is a crime that carries many elements of suspicion, suspicion and serious questions about the reasons for this bombing, and why the ship left with such quantities of ammonium nitrate on board, and how it changed its destination to reach the port of Beirut, and how its cargo was unloaded in the port rooms and how the ship sank. In the vicinity of the Beirut port after that.
He asked: “Who was behind the arrival of this dangerous cargo to Lebanon, who is its true owner and who were the groups that protected the continued existence of these quantities in the port of Beirut through that invisible hand that completely covered these explosives and hazardous materials, and who was behind the removal of quantities of them, especially since part of the wall of the room in which these quantities were located was destroyed, allowing entry into the room and expelling quantities of it.
Siniora added: “All this raises serious questions that must be answered so that all issues and circumstances are clear for all Lebanese. As for the second that must be clear and stable, which is the right of all Lebanese and all Lebanese who were injured or not, it is their right to know. ” All the truth. All Lebanese have the right to know the full truth of what happened, why it happened and who is responsible or responsible for what happened. “
He continued: “The third thing is that it is not allowed at all that there is a tent or protection that covers any human being or any individual or group that has participated in what happened, or that is responsible for committing negligence, negligence or complicity, regardless of the matter of this or those people. In any place they occupy or occupy “.
Siniora added: “No excuse or reason can be invoked for someone to be immune from accountability and accountability. Therefore, the whole truth must be revealed, and then those involved and those responsible will be prosecuted.”
He said: “Based on these three considerations, we, as former presidents, took the initiative the next day, and just hours before the bombing incident we were aware of the concerns and fears that are boiling in our hearts and in everyone’s hearts. the Lebanese regarding the possibility of politicizing the investigation or corrupting the judiciary, so we took the initiative. ” Directly to the demand for the assistance of an international investigation that enjoys professionalism, impartiality and integrity in order to undertake the investigation of this crime to find out its circumstances ”.
He noted: “We demand at that time all judicial, military and security agencies that are in charge of preserving the crime scene and not manipulating it until the international investigation begins its work. Our obsession and motivation at that time to seek the help of an international investigation committee was the fear and anticipation on our part of the delay and dilution if the investigation is received. ” In this crime, Lebanese judges can be exposed to pressure, political calculations, local pressure or the like. “
Siniora added: “On the other hand, the president of the republic had promised us at the time that, within five days, the investigation would be completed to show all Lebanese the truth of what happened. And now that this bombardment has passed more than four months, the investigations continue to tend to the right and left, and it seems that they do not touch anything but the shell. And that it does not address the essence of the basic problems of this crime, specifically to reveal who brought that shipment to Lebanon, what was its purpose and who benefits from it, and who used and removed amounts from the hangar and the port campus, and who was willing not to forward those amounts to Outside Lebanon and who was careful not to destroy it. “
They said to Siniora: Why Hassan Diab? Why isn’t it Saad Hariri, for example? Why does Hassan Diab say that this is a goal of the prime minister’s office and that it prevails over parliament?
He replied: “Before moving on to the constitutional issue of the judicial investigator’s allegations, I would like to refer to two interesting facts, which relate to what was reported by the President of the Republic and by the Prime Minister. The first is that the President and I We heard him personally say that there was information and that he was aware of these amounts of ammonium nitrate that were stored in the port rooms.
He confirmed that he was aware of this matter fifteen days before the attack, and this is His Excellency the President, and he is not a normal person but the former commander of the army, and in this capacity he is the President of the Supreme Defense Council and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and he is also a well-versed soldier with materials knowledge and experience. The explosive nature and quality of these quantities and the risks that may arise from the presence of these quantities in port pavilions and near residential areas.
He added: “As for the prime minister, it was also reported by him that when he found out, he would have liked to go to the port to inspect it to explore the circumstances of this issue and then review that visit. Therefore, the question arises: Why did you initiate any charges that prevented you from taking it? ” The survival of these quantities and the risks that their continued presence in the port entails.
Now, why this selectivity in the prosecution and in this matter, since both are responsible?
And is it possible “that all those responsible in Lebanon are held accountable for the corruption, destruction and explosion of the port?” Siniora replied: “This is not a normal matter and therefore it is not allowed to approach it with this lightness, since an international committee should have been appointed to carry out the investigation, especially since it is part of these quantities were being smuggled, especially because all estimates of the size of the explosion that occurred in the port indicate that the amount of materials that exploded does not exceed a third of the total amounts in the port and was stored in the hangar in question Where were the other quantities converted, how were smuggled and who used them? These are all basic questions and convincing answers have not yet been obtained due to the many circumstances surrounding them.
Siniora concluded that “the problem has now become the politicization of the Lebanese judiciary, and we know how the judiciary is being used to attend to certain people and therefore the installation of files. I do not defend anyone, if the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister is negligent or the ministers are negligent, let them be tried and it is not allowed to be “. There is protection for everyone, but that this is done in light of respect for the constitution and through the approval of the relevant constitutional bodies specified by the constitution, in order not to violate the constitution, but I repeat that, in light of recent developments, it has become an additional reason to reappoint a commission. An international investigation is being undertaken to cut the doubt with certainty. “
