The head of the Popular Bloc, Myriam Skaff, responded in a strong tone to the statement issued by the Zahle municipality – commenting and taunting regarding the materials that were brought into the Zahle landfill, considering that the municipality acknowledged the existence of a “crime and a time bomb,” while the basic questions about the nature of these materials, the mechanism of their treatment, and their fate remained without clear answers.
Skaf began her response by saying: “Thank you for the statement issued by the Zahle Municipality – Mu’alaqa Wa Taanayel. Thank you because it acknowledged the existence of a crime and a time bomb in the Zahle landfill, and the rest are political details that do not concern the people of the city, because their lives are more important than any other entitlements.”
She accused the municipality of resorting to “the outdated method of personalization” instead of facing the truth, stressing that the health of the people of Zahle and the city’s environment are not material for political bidding.
Skaff recalled the positions of the late Elias Skaff in confronting environmental issues, noting that “he did not sleep on environmental injustice,” and he would fight anyone who tried to tamper with the region’s environment, whether he was from its people or from outside it, without trusting anyone in his duty or reviewing his achievements.
She responded to the Popular Bloc’s accusation of exploiting the issue politically, considering that talking about elections is not valid after the authorities supporting the municipality, according to her, extended the mandate of the Parliament and cooperated with the authority to undermine the democratic entitlement.
It also reopened the file of the recent municipal elections, accusing the political party supporting the municipality of overturning at the last minute the agreement concluded with it and signed by the current mayor, after the deadlines that would have allowed the Popular Bloc to form an alternative list had been exhausted.
Skaff said that these political differences are no longer important in light of the potential risks to people’s health, considering that the municipality’s statement itself included a confession that requires stopping and investigating.
It cited what the municipality reported about the arrival of a total amount of 7.5 tons of materials to the Zahle landfill on September 19, 2025, after it was classified by the Ministry of Environment and the competent technical authorities as “non-hazardous materials.”
She pointed out that the municipality later acknowledged that when moving to the implementation phase, “the data changed,” and question marks appeared about the mechanism of treatment and final disposal of these materials, in addition to the absence of regulatory and supervisory bodies whose presence was a basic condition for starting the process.
Skaff believed that this statement constituted an admission by the municipality that it had “fallen into a deception, or into a foolishness no less dangerous,” adding: “I wish you had buried this response in the landfill with the seven tons, instead of releasing it to the media.”
She stressed that what is buried in landfills may disappear from sight, but it does not disappear from the earth or from people’s memories, warning that what is more dangerous than the exhaust that reached the landfill is burying the truth with it.
Skaff stressed that what is needed is not “political heroism” or a new statement full of achievements, but rather frank and documented answers, asking: “What entered the Zahle landfill? Who allowed it to enter? Who supervised its treatment? Where did these materials end up? And what prices did you charge?”
She concluded by saying: “People do not ask about your data, but rather about what you breathe. The landfill can accommodate exhaust, but it will not accommodate all these justifications.”
