Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 20, 2025

Lebanon’s Parliament Confirms State of Emergency, Extending Army Power

Lebanon’s Parliament Confirms State of Emergency, Extending Army Power

Parliamentary approval of the measures for Beirut, which last until Aug. 21 but can be renewed, has raised concerns about civil liberties.
In its first session since a devastating explosion rocked Beirut last week, Lebanon’s Parliament approved a state of emergency that extends sweeping powers to the army in the city, a situation that rights groups have said could pose a threat to freedoms.

A two-week emergency was first declared by the cabinet in an emergency session with President Michel Aoun the day of the explosion, but the Parliament’s approval makes the measure official and has raised concerns about enabling a crackdown on protesters and those critical of the government.

The state of emergency allows the army to impose curfews, ban assemblies and impose censorship on media organizations and publications if it deems them threatening to national security, and also extends the ability of officials to try civilians in military courts. It will last until Aug. 21, but can be renewed.

The decision to confirm the state of emergency came as widespread protests continue over the mishandling of the country’s affairs that many believe led to the explosion, which was triggered by a fire that ignited some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port since 2014. Officials had known for years that highly explosive materials were being kept at the site, which is the country’s main port.

Turmoil has gripped the government as well. Lebanon’s cabinet resigned on Monday as fury over the explosion grew. But ministers will stay on in a caretaker capacity until the country’s president appoints a new government.

Many believed that the resignation of the cabinet leaves the country back at an impasse it faced last fall when earlier protests forced the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Little has changed for the country’s most powerful politicians since then, a situation that protesters say has led to continued widespread corruption and mismanagement.

Karim Makdisi, an associate professor of international politics at the American University of Beirut, called the approval of the emergency measures a “very dangerous development that may lead to abuse of army power without recourse for citizens,” in a post on Twitter.

The decision was passed during a parliamentary session convened in the theater of Beirut’s UNESCO Palace, because the Parliament’s own chambers were severely damaged in the blast.

The government had already implemented a “state of general mobilization” in March to allow it to impose restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, including curfews, and some legal groups have questioned why an additional state of emergency was imposed.

Karim Nammour, a lawyer and board member of The Legal Agenda, a group that monitors public policy in Lebanon, said the declaration of a state of emergency followed a “repressive approach” similar to that used to respond to previous emergencies.

“The law doesn’t really specify what constitutes a threat to security, so this can be wildly interpreted in order to include other activities that are not necessarily threatening to security but are rather not compatible to the regime or powers’ view on how things should go,” he said.

He said that letting military authorities forbid any publication of content that it considers a threat to security was the most alarming aspect of the emergency measure because of the role the press plays in holding the authorities to account.

Recovery efforts are still in their early stages in the city, where the explosion caused an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion in damage, according to the governor of Beirut. International groups and nongovernmental organizations have taken the lead in the aid efforts.

On Thursday, David Hale, a senior U.S. diplomat, visited Beirut. While touring a neighborhood damaged in the explosion, Mr. Hale said the F.B.I. would take part in the investigation into the cause of the blast at the invitation of local officials, according to the national news agency of Lebanon.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
×