“It’s a bad sign”, assured Thursday, October 14 on franceinfo David Rigoulet-Rose, researcher at the French Institute of Strategic Analysis (Ifas) after the demonstration during which at least six people died in Lebanon. Shots of unknown origin targeted a demonstration organized in Beirut by Hezbollah against the judge in charge of the investigation into the explosion that occurred in the port on August 4, 2020. Violence then erupted in the area. “The fact that the investigation is approaching certain political leaders induces this type of behavior with potentially serious abuses”, analyzed the one who is also editor-in-chief of the journal Strategic directions, published by L’Harmattan. This violence “bring back very bad memories, ”he explains.
franceinfo: Should we see in the clashes on Thursday a scent of civil war already known in this region or a sporadic event?
David Rigoulet-Rose: This is not a trivial event. This brings back very bad memories, if only by the location of the clashes since it is the Badaro district, that is to say on the edge of the Shiite districts and the old demarcation line of the war. civil. This is a bad sign because we are clearly coming to a critical moment in the investigation. [sur l’explosion dans le port de Beyrouth], targeting a number of political leaders. The fact that the investigation is closer to these officials induces this type of behavior with potentially serious abuses.
Do the difficulties encountered by the survey have an impact on the situation in the country and in Beirut?
Yes, because there are very important expectations from the families of the victims. There were more than 200 dead and 6,500 injured, not to mention material damage. Obviously, there is an inherent obstruction to the Lebanese institutional complex. There was first the relinquishment of a first judge, Fadi Sawan, on February 18, succeeded by the current judge, Tareq Bitar, who wants to go to the end. It is the appointment of two former ministers, Ali Hassan Khalil, who is the right-hand man of the leader of the Amal party in Parliament, and Ghazi Zaayter, which is causing a lot of turmoil in the Lebanese confessional game.
Is this investigation also the trigger for the anger that there may be against the Lebanese ruling political class because of the deep crisis the country is going through?
Yes, the dispute with the Lebanese political class is far from being purged. The population feels crushed because it has fallen below the poverty line by an overwhelming majority. There is no more electricity these days because the two plants have been rendered non-operational. There is a state of economic, social and institutional decay in Lebanon which is fraught with danger for the future.
