On Thursday, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne met with President Aoun to relay Canada’s offer to help in the investigation of the Beirut Port explosion on condition that it is credible and transparent.
“The Lebanese people expect that if Canada participates in this investigation it is because it is going to be credible, transparent, and get to the bottom of things to get justice,” the Canadian official stated.
An investigative committee appointed by the president was supposed to reveal how and why the explosion happened five days after the explosion on August 4th. However, there is still no official explanation, at least none shared with the citizens who await justice.
Two weeks ago, U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale said, during his 3-day visit to Beirut, that the FBI would assist in Lebanon’s investigation efforts. France is also helping.
That is despite that President Aoun had previously expressed his firm rejection of an international probe into the blast, saying that it would waste time and would affect Lebanon’s sovereignty, which won’t happen during his reign.
However, in an interview with Paris Match on Thursday, Aoun said that he wants the investigation to “reach its conclusion as quickly as possible.”
He said he wants answers about how 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate got to the port and why they stayed there for over 6 years, although reports emerged that he and prime minister Diab knew about them and were warned about their high threat to the public.
“Many questions are raised, and none of the hypotheses should be neglected,” he said. This will include looking into the possibility of Hezbollah’s involvement in the explosion.
However, in a previous interview, President Aoun already gave his take on the matter, saying it was impossible that his ally had anything to do with it.
