A government not to be trusted

In view of the appalling mess in Lebanon, the Morrison government’s $2m in emergency aid following last week’s devastating explosion has been sent not to the government in Beirut but to our “trusted aid partners, the World Food Program and Red Cross’’, to ensure food and medical care are provided to those in need. It was a good call by Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who headed to Beirut after the blast, also announced that aid from Lebanon’s former colonial power “would not be channelled through the Lebanese political system”. Other nations have followed suit. Nothing better underlines the extent of international contempt for the corruption that has thrived for decades at the heart of a government that depends on the support of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist army. It is little wonder tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets of Beirut at the weekend to protest the official corruption they believe led to the detonation of 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at the city’s port. Hezbollah controls the port and airport, as David Kilcullen wrote on Saturday. Its influence over the government may have prevented UN maritime forces from intervening over the unsafe storage of the chemical compound.

A government with nothing to hide would want to get to the bottom of what happened. But when President Michel Aoun, a veteran of Lebanese politics, was asked whether an international inquiry should be set up, he dismissed the idea. Given Hezbollah’s influence, it is hard to believe it was unaware of the stockpile. Hezbollah, with Iran pulling the strings, is largely responsible for the nation’s economic collapse. Ranked 137th on Transparency International’s corruption index, Lebanon, which occupies a highly strategic position, needs stability and clean government. It will not have either until it stops Hezbollah’s malign interference.