Khatib Says Gemayel Trying to 'Gain Popularity'
Environment Minister Tarek al-Khatib said he is still “not certain” about the source of the trash that accumulated on Monday at the Keserwan's shore and accused Kataeb Party leader Sami Gemayel of trying to gain popularity for the upcoming parliamentary elections, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.
“I can not define the source of the trash. A technical team has been dispatched to conduct a detection report after which I can determine the source,” Khatib told the daily.
Seawater has invaded a garbage landfill present near the Zouk Mobseh-Nahr el-Kalb shore and pulled piles of trash into the Mediterranean on Monday.
Gemayel who inspected the site on Monday blasted the government anew over the waste management crisis, and called on the Environment Minister to resign.
Replying to Gemayel's calls that Khatib submits his resignation after the “scandal”, Khatib said: “I heard him. But I will not resign just because he asked me to.”
Khatib accused Gemayel of trying to gain popularity in the upcoming parliamentary elections, he said: “I wish he had joined the Free Patriotic Movement ministers who had rejected the government waste plan that approved the Costa Brava and Burj Hammoud landfills, instead of having three Kataeb ministers approve it and then pretend to be fighting it in order to win popularity in the elections.”
Gemayel announced that he will take the government to “international courts” for polluting the sea with garbage.
He also said: “The sea has filled with garbage because officials who lack conscience and competency are in charge of the waste file.”
Source: Naharnet
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