Following the death of former Lebanese finance minister Mohamad Chatah who was killed in an explosion in Beirut on Friday morning, euronews spoke to special correspondent in Beirut Ali El Takash.
euronews:
“What’s the message behind this act?”
euronews correspondent Ali El Takash:
“There are several messages behind this act. First of all, there’s the place. We are here in the center of Beirut. As you can see – the ‘crime scene’ is behind me. You can see the debris behind me. One of goals was to hit the center of Beirut.
“If we have a look at the political institutions here in Lebanon, we find they’re completely paralysed. There’s a presidential election in a few months and it’s an important one. There’s a fierce debate among different Lebanese factions about the elections. The Lebanese government doesn’t exist anymore, it’s just a transitional government. These transitional institutions should investigate the explosion, but they don’t exist anymore. That’s why they won’t be able to play the role they should play.”
euronews:
“Is the assassination a response to the previous targeting of the Iranian embassy in Beirut?”
El Takash:
“What we can confirm is that Lebanon has becomes a place to send messages, political messages and security ones. This explosion comes after a series of bombings has occurred in the weeks and months before. Lebanon is the mailbox through which to send these type of messages.”
euronews:
“Is this explosion related to the tribunal on the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri?”
El Takash:
“To begin with, it should be noted that the former prime minister Saad el Hariri, who is the leader of the Al Mustaqbal party, said that whoever is responsible for this explosion is the same man behind the assassination of his father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. These statements were made an hour and a half after the explosion. Such statements must point to the complicitly of Hezbollah.