As heartbreaking recollections of the port blast make their way back into the minds of Lebanese, the question of justice for the victims of the crime has forcefully returned to the fore. And justice inevitably comes with demands for the truth: Why did what happened happen? Who did it? Who made the order? However, justice returns as an impossible, unattainable object. Judge Tarek Bitar having his hands tied, after the dismissal of Judge Fadi Sawan, merely encapsulated this state of affairs, besides serving as an early omen for what was to come.
It's been three years since the devastating blast, the largest non-nuclear explosion in modern history, which killed more than 200 people and injured 6,000.
Lebanon today marked the third anniversary of the horrific Beirut port explosion, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in the world. Families of the victims find themselves facing justice hampered by the suspension of the investigation due to judicial and political interference. Marches came out demanding accountability for those responsible for this disaster, amid continuing political differences that hinder the conduct of investigations. The State Department said the United States continues to stand with the Lebanese people, and those responsible must be held accountable and the causes behind it must be revealed.