Lebanon Prez Aoun under fire for seizing Sri Lankan tea donated to Beirut blast victims

Lebanon President Michel Aoun has been caught in a storm of criticisms after it came to light that the tea donated by Sri Lanka for the victims of the Beirut Blast was distributed to the families of the presidential guards. Aoun has been condemned for the corruption coming to surface amid the crisis Lebanon is facing after the deadly Beirut blast that killed at least 190 people and injured thousands more.

Without trying to flare up the charge of corruption, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Lebanon, Shani Calyaneratne Karunaratne has however said that Sri Lanka's donation was a gift to Aoun and he was free to do anything with it, reported international media. She added that it was one of the best teas in the world and she is happy that whoever he gave it to is drinking it, however, she avoided the question of who the tea was intended for, the Lebanese people or the president.

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'Why are you so worried?'

"Why are you so worried about it? It is something from the Sri Lankan people and the people who own the tea company," she said as reported by the National, a UAE daily.

"I am tired with this kind of disrespect towards the authorities,” she added over the corruption charge on the president.

The President's office released a picture on August 24 with Aoun receiving the Sri Lankan ambassador and quoted her as saying Colombo had "donated 1,675 kilos (3,685 pounds) of Ceylon tea to people affected by the Beirut blast".

Lebanese media and social media questioned what happened to the donation after which the president's office issued another statement thanking the Sri Lankan counterpart "a gift of Ceylon tea" and saying it was received by the army and distributed to the families of the soldiers in the presidential guard.

Soon after the president's clarification, social media was abuzz with hashtags such as 'tea thief' and 'Ceylon tea' slamming the president over the alleged corruption. 

Former Lebanese MP Paula Yacoubian who resigned after the Beirut blast also slammed the president for not distributing the tea to affected people.

"The tea was sent to the Lebanese, particularly those affected by the explosion. Of course, it wasn't a present for those who don't need it. Distributing the aid to your entourage is shameful," Yacoubian wrote on social media.

Beirut Blast

The devastating explosion took place in the capital city of Lebanon on August 4 which destroyed dozens of buildings. The authorities claimed that the improper storage of 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was the primary reason for the deadly blast. In the aftermath of the explosion, the UN announced that it would be releasing an aid package worth $9 million for Lebanon. 

According to an official estimate, 300,000 people were left homeless after the blast. Thousands of people are living in damaged buildings and some are shifted to shared shelters, with limited access to water and sanitation. Also, the capital city had been facing the wrath of the pandemic as COVID-19 cases surged in the city in the month of August compelling the government to impose lockdown to control the surge.

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