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The Lebanese were deprived of the Iraqi gift of flour (Hussein Baydoun)
A new crime committed by the Lebanese state against its citizens and its relations with foreign countries, exposes more negligence and labor impotence. The authority was not satisfied with looting people’s money, starving and displacing them, as it continues in its practices and mismanagement, and has deliberately deprived the Lebanese of the aid and donations that came to them during the bombing of the port of Beirut last August 4.
In details, the municipality of Ghobeiry (Governorate of Mount Lebanon) revealed a scandal that this time affected thousands of tons of flour given as a gift by the Iraqi government as part of the aid given to the Lebanese people after the explosion of the port of Beirut, after storing it in the warehouses of the Beirut Sports City (Camille Chamoun Sports City). At the bottom of the stands and lower aisles, without any observance of sanitary conditions, until they were exposed to water, humidity and air.
The health monitors of the municipality of Ghobeiry could not enter the warehouse to inspect the food and flour stored, because the Minister of Economy in the interim government, Raúl Nehme, did not obtain the necessary permission to carry out this task. In this context, a source from the Ghobeiry municipality told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed: “The stored flour has been largely spoiled as a result of poor storage and packaging and the entry of insects. It has become inadequate even before the rainwater entered the warehouse. Currently, we are waiting for it. Examination of it by experts and an investigation to prove all the facts. “
For his part, Nehme published a video from inside the warehouse on his Twitter account, in which he said that “some 7,000 tons of flour have been stored in the Sports City temporarily and due to the efforts of the Lebanese Army, to be distributed in stages to kilns and mills so that the Lebanese can benefit from the gift through an increase. ” Weigh the package of bread, taking all possible precautions to preserve the flour. He added: “To clarify the images that are circulating on social networks, they show materials that were damaged during the process of unloading and transporting goods.”
In response to what was said about preventing the entrance of the food safety team of the municipality of Ghobeiry to inspect the flour in the Sports City, he explains: “First, nobody has contacted me. Second, I have not given any orders and I am not responsible for giving the permission. Third: We welcome any official body that wants to inspect the safety of the merchandise because they help us with our tasks and not the other way around! “
The hands of the Minister of Economy and the imposition of a correct subsidy policy have become an urgent necessity
Crime of negligence
For his part, the general director of Sports Facilities, Riyadh Al-Sheikha, denied in a statement his responsibility for what happened, highlighting that “we have nothing to do with it, and that the flour is stored for the benefit of the Ministry of Economy by a period of 25 days until it is distributed. ” In this context, lawyer Ali Abbas told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the primary responsibility lies with the Ministry of Economy, which committed the crime of labor negligence, and has dealt with this aid, which is public property, such as how it reached the Lebanese people, in a way that violates Lebanese laws and norms. safety. The minister did not take the necessary precautions not to harm the citizen or even his relationship with a foreign country, which is Iraq, especially because international and even Arab confidence in the Lebanese state is lacking, and this resulted in the reluctance of the countries that They support it in providing direct assistance to the authorities in Lebanon, and a series of reforms were implemented before. Any step to reactivate the country economically. ”
Abbas is surprised by the way the flour is stored, choosing a place that doesn’t have the simplest safety regulations and hasn’t been subject to maintenance for a long time. He says: “More than that, it is not suitable for placing such large quantities of food, as it is vulnerable to the entry of air, water and even animals and insects. It did not even insist on spraying pesticides. The result was damage and loss of help provided to affected people at a time when the state did not support it. ” It did not provide any relief or help. “
black market
Abbas believes that all possibilities are open, including “the deal to sell Iraqi flour on the black market. Perhaps the flour in the warehouse is material that is not valid. Perhaps small amounts of flour provided by the Iraqi government were put on for disguise. There is simply no trust in the Lebanese state. ” There are previous similar scandals that make us suspicious of everything that the authority and its administrations do. “
Abbas points out that what reinforces this hypothesis is that the state does not distribute these materials to citizens. We have not seen any increase in the weight of the bread bundle. From here on, the Lebanese Judicial Power has to act and directly supervise the file by sending experts to examine the materials before removing them from the warehouse, and hold those responsible for this crime responsible, otherwise any negligence or delay is a second scandal. , as the Beirut port explosion was addressed, “indicating that the evidence was hidden” at a time when officials are still at large and enjoying themselves without being arrested or questioned. ”
In turn, the head of the Consumer Protection Association, Zuhair Berro, asks: “When will the Minister of Economy give up his hand on the money and food of the Lebanese?” Noting that “the Iraqi gift in kind, consisting of flour for the poor, was stored by decision of Minister Nehme and the General Directorate of Grains under the Sports City stalls. The result is that thousands of tons of flour are subject to deterioration due to moisture and water. It is also subject to rot. ”
house arrest
Berro says: “The Consumer Protection Association has repeatedly asked the judiciary to investigate the relevant minister and also the minister of health, to hold them accountable for the waste of the Lebanese money and now their bread. We repeat our call to the judiciary to fulfill its duties, otherwise what is the benefit of this judiciary, which for decades has received innumerable privileges? ” He addressed the Lebanese, saying: “Stopping the hand of the Minister of Economy and imposing a correct support policy has become an urgent necessity. The country sank and they are still insisting on the same policies. Why don’t the Lebanese put those ministers under house arrest? “
In addition, citizens, associations and non-governmental organizations, through social networks, interacted with this scandal, believing that the State continues to surprise them on a daily basis, in light of its neglect of the citizen and its duties to the homeland and the people, and their practices based on waste and corruption, at a time when the Judiciary does not move before any A political official, despite the horror of the disaster and the magnitude of the crime committed openly and publicly.
Activists pointed out that the Ministry of Economy, which did not know how to control the prices of goods and food, and could not protect the consumer against currency traders and the black market, has squandered aid that is the right of the people, in the face of the worst The economic and living crisis that the country is going through, and of which the Minister himself speaks on each occasion, especially unemployment, poverty and hunger rates that are increasing. However, he did not fulfill his duties.
In the context, the group “People want to reform the system”, represented by lawyers Jad Tohme, Hassan Bazzi, Haitham Ezzo, Mazen Safia, Pierre Gemayel, Francoise Kamel, Joseph Wannis, Najib Farhat, Maryam Hamdan and journalist Joy Haddad , presented a report to the Financial Prosecutor’s Office. All the ministers, managers, employees and officials involved in the investigation reveal the crime of “labor negligence, and causing the destruction of thousands of tons of the gift of Iraqi flour given to the Lebanese government for distribution to the poor of the Lebanese people.”
All possibilities are open, including the sale of Iraqi flour on the black market.
Several citizens stormed the Ministry of the Economy to demand that the person responsible for the storage of flour be held to account in a shameful manner.
It is noteworthy that on October 12, Nehme had received the Iraqi Chargé d’Affaires in Beirut Amin al-Nasrawi, the staff of the Iraqi embassy and the staff of the oil tanker (Basra), loaded with ten thousand tons of flour, “as help the brother Lebanese people to overcome the effects of the accident of the port explosion. Beirut is painful and has overcome the difficult economic conditions that Lebanon is going through, “said Nasrawi.
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