The Tripoli municipality, under the supervision of its president, Riyad Yamak, has commenced cleaning the municipal palace and removing debris in preparation for launching reconstruction, restoration, and rehabilitation efforts.
The National News Agency reported that Tripoli's municipal workshops and employees, overseen by President Riyad Yamak, Deputy Khaled Al-Wali, and other members, are cleaning the municipal palace and removing debris in preparation for the reconstruction, restoration, and rehabilitation project. The agency added that since the morning, the municipality has witnessed numerous delegations visiting, including a delegation from the Turkish embassy led by Ambassador Hakan Cakil. After assessing the damage, the Turkish ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to assist in restoring the building and providing social aid to the poorest families in the city, as well as preparing to secure large machinery for the Tripoli municipality.
President Riyad Yamak also welcomed a delegation from the Association of Mukhtars of Tripoli and the North, where Mukhtar of Beddawi, Hussein Qreitem, affirmed their stance against vandalism and condemned the acts of treachery that harmed the city and its citizens, emphasizing that this targeting affects everyone. Qreitem expressed support for Yamak, stating, "We stand with him and will follow his actions to do what is necessary to revive this municipality." He highlighted their support for the revolution and its legitimate goals but condemned all inappropriate actions, including vandalizing the municipality, the Sharia court, and educational centers, whether public or private property.
Qreitem reiterated the Mukhtars' solidarity with Tripoli and its people and revolution against all infiltrators who have harmed the city, stressing that the actions of the state should primarily benefit the city and its residents, and against the treacherous actions that have affected it. In turn, Yamak thanked the delegation and told the Mukhtars: "Your statements through Mukhtar Qreitem articulated the reality and pinpointed the issue. We stand with legitimate demands and the revolution, and the municipality has always supported honest citizens in all neighborhoods. It is astonishing that the municipality was not attacked during the dark days of the civil war, so why is it being attacked today, along with Tripoli's institutions?" Yamak affirmed that what occurred is a destructive project for the city and the region, praising the solidarity of the city's noble citizens around the municipality and its institutions, confirming the refusal to succumb to vandalism.
Yamak noted that efforts are underway to uncover all suspicious individuals who disrupt the city's security and burn its institutions, stressing that they will not accept anything less than the state fulfilling all its duties thoroughly, as the issue of the poor's livelihood and hunger is exploited by the dubious. "We will stand by the poor," Yamak expressed gratitude to "the presidency of the Council of Ministers and President Hassan Diab for their interest and sending Government Commissioner to the Military Court Fadi Akiki to assess the damages," stating: "They have promised us support which we hope will be realized, pledging to stand by Tripoli municipality and fulfill our previous demands that have been submitted for years. Unfortunately, previous requests were not met, and state ministries stopped at the borders of Tripoli, leading to the spread of poverty and hardship—a cause for popular movement."
He mentioned that the Higher Defense Council in the Ministry of Interior convened under Minister Mohammad Fahmy, and the Prime Minister contacted them, assuring that Tripoli would be prioritized. Additionally, more than one political delegation visited the municipality from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, announcing their support for restoration efforts.
Yamak met with the Secretary-General of the "Islamic Unification Movement," Sheikh Bilal Shaaban, who assessed the damage and considered that what is happening in Tripoli is mirrored in other Lebanese cities and worldwide due to lockdowns to confront COVID-19, noting that in Tripoli, the situation is more pronounced as it is the poorest city. He illustrated that combining poverty, deprivation, unemployment, illiteracy, and ignorance can be described as a chemical equation, stronger than an atomic bomb, which explodes around it, and this is what occurred. Shaaban added that responsibility is shared among authorities, politicians, religious leaders, and officials, and it is necessary to work to halt everything happening, demanding the state hold accountable those responsible, planners, and negligent parties.
Yamak also welcomed a delegation from the "Islamic Education Association." After touring the municipal palace, the head of the association, Nahed Al-Ghazal, stated: "In the face of this atrocious crime, we can only stand with the president of the municipal council, the members, and all employees and workers therein, expressing solidarity and condemning what has happened, and demanding the state and security apparatus to apprehend the perpetrators swiftly and strike hard against all conspirators against this oppressed and deprived city."
