Kataeb lawmaker Elias Hankach on Tuesday called for the approval of the expedited bis law aiming to prevent the demolition of the Beirut port wheat silos.

“The expedited bis law must be passed today as we have to reinforce the wheat silos, and most importantly, it is forbidden to erase the traces of the crime,” Hankach said in an interview with MTV.

Last month, Kataeb party lawmakers Samy Gemayel, Nadim Gemayel, Selim Sayegh and Elias Hankach submitted a draft expedited bis law to the parliament on the protection of the wheat silos of Beirut's port. 

A draft law that includes a single article, stipulating:

Article 1: a- It shall be prohibited to demolish the wheat silos of Beirut's port, whether the demolition was partial or complete. The building is classified as a national cultural monument to commemorate the martyrs of the Beirut Port explosion, provided that the cabinet sets implementing decrees for this within six months from the issuance of this law.

b-The competent public administrations shall be assigned, within one month from the date of the issuance of this law, to carry out the emergency works necessary to strengthen and protect the building in order to preserve public safety, until the completion of the studies concerned with the building maintenance, implementation, and ensurance of its sustainability.

Article 2: This law shall enter into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette.

The expeditious memorandum includes the mandating reasons

Whereas the explosion of Beirut Port on August 4, 2020, resulted in the killing of 232 victims, the injury of thousands of others, and the destruction of thousands of homes, offices and shops in Beirut and its suburbs,

Whereas this event imprinted the collective memory of the Lebanese people, similar to the wars, disasters and occupations that they had experienced throughout their history,

Whereas each of these events has been immortalized by a teacher pointing to it,

Whereas families of Beirut port victims and many Lebanese are unanimously agreed that this symbolism is embodied in the wheat silos of Beirut's port, and consider its demolition an insult to their collective memory,

Whereas these silos stood as an impenetrable dam in front of the blast reaching major parts of the capital, thus preventing an increase in the number of victims and an expanding area of destruction,Whereas the silos are still considered a scene of investigations,

We submit this draft expedited bis law to the parliament on the protection of wheat silos of Beirut's port.