All except one in the Lebanon parliament has voted for the military to take over the country in the wake of the deadly Beirut blast on August 5 which killed nearly 200 people and left over 6000 injured.
In its first session after the deadly explosion, the
parliament has announced a state of emergency which means extending power to
the army in the city. This move has been highly criticised by the human rights
groups who think that this can be fatal for the freedom of existence in the
country. Earlier a two-week emergency was declared by the cabinet in a session
that was hurriedly called on by the President Michel Aoun the day of the
explosion but now getting the parliament’s approval makes everything more
official.
The Army has the power to impose curfews, ban assemblies
and bar the media from coverage if it deems them threatening to national
security. Though it will last until Aug.
21, but can be renewed. The decision made its way due to the unsettling
situation in Lebanon and continued protests made it evident that the people are
not happy with how the government is dealing with the situation.
The explosion, which has been termed as one of the biggest
one’s minus the nuclear blast, was due
to 2,750 tonnes of dangerous chemicals left in storage at Beirut's port for
nearly seven years and it is alleged that the government officials knew about
it.
The
one parliamentarian who opposed this decision of emergency was Osama Saad who
said that this will mean ‘militarisation of the state’ which is unhealthy for the
freedom of the country. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri responded the army had
"not taken steps that people fear, nor suppress television [channels] and
despite the chaos in the media it did not intervene and left room for
protest", according to local media.
Comments
Post a Comment