Zaitunay Bay: A Public Space
Following last Saturday’s activist movement on Zaitunay Bay, and which included erroneous slogans (whether by intention or not), Solidere would like to clarify the following:
Ever since its inception, the company has emphasized public space in its masterplan, and equipped Downtown with an infrastructure that is highly conductive for public activity and citizen movements. Consequently, Downtown accommodated many manifestations and large citizen demonstrations, including the latest protests.
Concerning Zaitunay Bay, we would like to state some facts:
Regardless of any movement, the sea dock has always been, and will always remain, an inherently public space that is open to everyone. The fact that no private or government security personnel tried to obstruct the activity of the demonstrators proves that. The presence of private enterprise and restaurants in Zaitunay Bay in no way makes the deck private property, despite the propaganda that wants to portray it as exclusive to a specific company or a specific socio-economic class. Just like any other public domain, this deck has governmental regulations for public activity.
Moreover, the restaurants and cafes that operate in the Bay provide jobs for hundreds of individuals, and are part of an economic system that is standard everywhere. The restaurants, which are claimed to be “elitists”, are all in fact branches of larger chains that follow the same pricing anywhere in the country. These restaurants cater to a wide range of budgets, and none of them is owned or operated by Solidere.
Solidere would like to stress the fact that accessing Zaitunay Bay is completely free of charge, unlike other resorts in its vicinity or elsewhere along the Lebanese coast.
Solidere Management
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