Explosions in Beirut: the Minister of Information resigns, the first departure of the government

Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad at a press conference, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, February 25, 2020. Dalati Nohra / Handout via REUTERS

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Lebanese Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad resigned on Sunday August 9. This is the first resignation after the deadly explosion that ravaged the port of Beirut on Tuesday and the anti-government demonstration that brought together thousands of people on Saturday.

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With our correspondent in Beirut, Paul Khalifeh

In Lebanon, the anger of the population and the mistrust of part of the political class towards the government is growing. The day after a demonstration that brought together several thousand people in the streets of Beirut, the Lebanese Minister of Information, Manal Abdel Samad, announced her resignation.

“  I apologize to the Lebanese people because we have failed to meet their expectations,  ” she said in a televised address. She explains her resignation by the fact that the change desired by the Lebanese is still not within reach and the reality is not up to the aspirations.

► To (re) read - Beirut: thousands of angry Lebanese demonstrate against the government

Considered to be close to the Druze leader Walid Joumblatt, Manal Abdel Samad called for the holding of legislative elections and an international investigation into the double explosion which destroyed part of Beirut. The latest report shows 158 dead and more than 6,000 injured.

Organization of early legislative elections

She was considering proposing such an approach in the Council of Ministers but it was rejected by the President of the Republic Michel Aoun, who sees it as an attack on national sovereignty. The resignation of Manal Abdel Samad thus weakens the government of Hassan Diab which must face the anger of the street and the opposition.

In an attempt to appease the anger in the streets, the disputed Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced the day before that he would propose early legislative elections . He also said he was ready to stay in power "  for two months  ", until the political forces come to an agreement.

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  • Lebanon
  • Hassan diab

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