Daryan Urges International Probe into Beirut Blast, Radical Authority Change

Grand Sunni Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan called on Wednesday for an international investigation into the colossal Beirut port blast, and a "radical" change to the country’s authority including early elections and formation of an emergency government of specialists.

“Existential threat against Lebanon, the homeland and the state requires urgent measures including an international investigation to determine responsibilities and restore confidence,” said Daryan in remarks marking a new Hijri year.

The Mufti said the explosion day on August 4 is a “black day in the history of Beirut, Lebanon and the Levant.” But Daryan sounded astonishment at the “ruling authority’s absence from what has befallen upon the people. What kind of dreadful attachment to power is that?” he asked.

The Mufti stressed the need for “a radical change in power,” in Lebanon that must include “early parliamentary elections based on an appropriate electoral law to guarantee freedom and integrity.”

Daryan said President Michel Aoun must hold “swift parliamentary consultations to name a PM and hence form an emergency and neutral government composed of specialists in order to address the disaster after Beirut’s deadly explosion, and stop the economic collapse,” to prepare the country for a better future, he said.

Turning to the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon which on Tuesday convicted one member of Hizbullah in the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafic Hariri, Daryan said the new government must enforce the tribunal’s verdict.

“One of the tasks of the forthcoming government is to enforce the judgment issued by the International Tribunal in the case of the assassination of martyr Prime Minister Rafic Hariri,” he said.

“It is an international court to achieve justice and save Lebanon from losing its sovereignty. The assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and the other martyrs necessitates the pursuit of salvation from uncontrolled weapons, otherwise no country or state can stand upright,” said the Mufti.

On calls to neutralize Lebanon from regional conflicts, the Mufti said: “We may not need neutrality if we establish a strong and just State reinforced by unity, social cohesion, justice, and crowned with safe coexistence.

“What is the value of neutrality if officials do not give weight to the concept of independence and sovereignty?” he asked.