This statement was originally published at the Alliance of Middle Eastern and North African Socialists Website. (MENA) Facts For Working People is not affiliated with MENA.
“We announce the beginning of the battle for liberation”: A statement from Beirut – Lebanon
Aug 9, 2020 |
Popular commemoration for the victims of the blast.
Justice for the victims, revenge from the regime.
The street is ours, and to the street we return.
We were all born on August 4, 2020, at six in the evening, in Ward 12. We were
born, or rather, we all died and some of us came back to life, as corpses made
up of shattered glass, pieces of concrete, and ammonium nitrate deposits.
Corpses that were left only to witness the destruction of their city. This
didn’t happen as a result of a natural disaster. Nor was it a result of a
welding error here or a dire accident there. And it is not only the result of
the corruption that has ruled over us for more than thirty years. The explosion
was a premeditated crime committed against the people. A crime with planners, perpetrators,
beneficiaries, and justifiers.
On August 4, 2020, a bomb was thrown at downtown Beirut, and a war was declared
on us.
The war began with hundreds of dead, thousands wounded, hundreds of thousands
displaced, and countless losses. This war could have been avoided, but it has
been underway for many years. This explosion could have been avoided. Nobody
could have died. People might not have slept on the streets. It was possible,
but the bomb exploded. The question remains, how many more bombs await us?
We don’t need to wait for an investigation, as we know the truth well, it is
engraved on the bodies of the dead and wounded, in the destroyed streets of
Beirut, in the tearful eyes of the survivors, and in the living memory of the
victims. We do not need an investigation. Truth commissions will not be more
than a new version of the amnesty law which originally brought them here. On
this day, the authority asserted that it was not only corrupt, plunder, and
failed, but also murderous. It cannot be lived with after today.
On August 4, 2020, the Authority detonated a bomb in the center of the city,
along with the last thread that connects us to it.
We will not seek any investigation that could restore any trust between us and
the authority. The responsibility is not on those who welded the warehouse
door, but on those who welded this system and turned it into a corrupt,
plundering and murderous machine. A hundred years after the founding of
Lebanon, its social contracts have expired. From its common life, resistance,
and sovereignty, to its supposed civilizational message. And the issue has
become clear: We are under the authority of an occupation.
On August 4, 2020, any legitimacy for this authority has been lost and we have entered the stage of open war.
There is no longer any legitimacy for this regime, its politicians, institutions, parties, banks, and media. This legitimacy will not be restored by investigation committees, ballot boxes, and rescue governments. Legitimacy today is ours, simply because we are not you. Legitimacy today is for those who clean the streets, care for the wounded, and mourn the dead.
On August 4, 2020, the authority admitted to its crime when it declared a state
of emergency.
A state of military emergency was its only way to cover up for its failure. Its
only concern, before counting the victims or providing aid, was to suppress any
objection to it. The state of emergency declaration is to avoid responsibility
for relief and rescue, the state of emergency declaration is a declaration of
war on the survivors, and is a declaration of a police state that will be born
from the womb of the explosion.
On August 4, 2020, the Authority declared war on us. As for us, we announce the
beginning of the battle for liberation.
We are no longer in October 17th. We will not demonstrate, and we will no
longer make demands. It is time to fight.
We will fight to free our institutions from their impersonators.
We will fight to liberate the city from its occupants.
We will fight to free people’s deposits from the banks.
We will fight to free people from corruption.
We will fight to free ourselves from this system.
One day, one of them said, “If they don’t like it here then they should
immigrate.” On August 4th, 2020, the battle for your removal has begun.
8 August 2020
Statement from a group of activist in Lebanon sent to the Alliance of MENA
Socialists.
This statement does not necessarily reflect the views of the Alliance of MENA Socialists.
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