beethoven is from. his 4th. beethoven 202250th anniversary year. long before the massive explosion tore into beirut last august lebanon had been following a path that led to only one way to self-destruction. as the smoke rose over the city around 200 people a day 50000 users in egypt victims are reluctant incompetent politicians who for

generations have allowed their citizens to sink into poverty and despair the explosion was a terrible symbol of that neglect the cause a highly volatile quantity of ammonium nitrate the result for years in a warehouse of port officials warned of the dangers posed mornings but was systematically ignored but would anything change in the aftermath would anyone ever be held to account for and sympathy arrived in the shape of france's emmanuel macro when he brought an uncompromising message there's no blank check he told people if your political class fails we won't come to lebanon say and fail it did days later the government resigned not only did the politicians have no answers they had like so many before the simply given up who would now fill the vacuum.

hello and welcome to this special edition of conflict zone over the last 4 years we've interviewed several senior lebanese politicians about the inexorable breakdown of their economy and their state institutions what they told us provides an unusually clear insight into the reasons for lebanon's intractable crisis we saw it on says to some key questions what has gone wrong who was to blame for the sinking economy and how could the country move forward but instead of answers we got promises of progress of clarity and commitment even transparency that in most cases came to nothing. in february 26th scene i caught up with gibran bassil the country's foreign minister who acknowledged the central feature of lebanese politics demick corruption as well as all the other contradictions that have made it impossible for the state to function. yes we have corruption in our country but

this is why we need to have strong leaders to fight corruption corruption and different factions playing politics yes with a nation that can ill afford it i mean even the patriarch spoke of erosion of your state institutions at the moment as of course the collapse of the states collapsing . depends how do how you define the collapse we still have at least a family in lebanon we still have values values of how we live how we think towards the other we're well aware this is fading completely and other parts are even and strong and prosperous country is you don't see this kind of cohesion that we still have 11 or coalition you failed you look at a president in most years well cohesion is that almost 35 attempts to get a quorum in parliament you have managed to do it you haven't passed the budget since 2005 you have a parliament is mandated relative 2013 and had to extend it twice without recourse

to the public you haven't had legislative elections since 2000. again this is a complete paralysis of the political body isn't where i guessed on this but when you're under a much amount to another the family against it i'm not defending the politics and the ban on the politicians not of your one of your living and defending something that belongs to all of us and humanity and defending the idea and the more that we stand the prism of diversity of living together accepting each other where we are different this is what i'm defending and this is where i'm seeing the importance of lebannon if we have this model versus the model of what do you choose. you choose the model. or you still have lebanon where people can still live together because what else can you get so you can get the national model for how much of this living together was apparent when you see the people protest on the streets of weapons they have done over the last year and they get. subjected to unacceptable violence

by the security services. cannon tear gas but you know in a lot of bullets you know i was among the protesters so i well know who's of violence i let myself to the street because i refuse the situation to sue who's in charge and what is the government at this inshallah we are we are in jail they're in jail of power because we cannot leave again you're a government that doesn't control your security services is that what you're telling me. even with the security level we still find their feet compare us to other regions other countries around us in the region so again it is a situation that we have to fix how by not imposing. solution that is ready to share that idea recipe by allowing the libyan east let's let them go to elections and allow them to truly lections reported on since 2005 and we were

against this we can continue on because you because your prime minister said the levels of force used against demonstrators was unacceptable he's the prime minister told to do anything about this yes he stopped it but what happened is that the person who was prosecutors and i'm telling you i was the prosecutor i was myself on the street nobody who was a fraud well you 3 times to the exegesis because i refute the situation minister you refused the situation but people got beaten up people got hospitalized dozens of people were taken to hospital people were injured all those injuries let's not portray about known as a country where you have a you don't a lot of people to express themselves the we have an excess of them or crises and and about all the people are allowed to speak out whatever your security organization. out of this hatcher all this and this happened again 11 of the bacon of our freedoms in the region and this happened once we don't take this incident and extrapolate it on our minister they love can you claim to be a beacon of freedom when the allegations of torture carried out by your security

services are widespread in june last year there was a leaked video showing members of your internal security forces torturing inmates in roomier prison north of beirut the interior minister confirmed that the video was authentic this is the kind of beacon of tolerance and coexistence that you say you have where torture is widespread not human rights watch said this was just the tip of the ice a perception. confirms the rule no we don't have the stomach this is an incident that happened there if you say the this is what happened in the guantanamo doesn't mean that in the us to live the torture this is an incident that happened once and confirmed that with this is not the case and let you know you know very well mr lowy to me this completely because we have so many things that we are not satisfied about and there are but we don't turn it into being

a place where people are tortured and yet the reports credible reports of torture have continued to surface in the 4 years since that interview was recorded no change there no change either in any of the sectarian carve ups and political patronage for the fact it and still act as immovable roadblocks to reform. ever since the civil war the complex power sharing system spawned many factions and warlords who empowered and enrich themselves at the expense of the people they shared between them the spoils the top jobs than the creative contracts and even as they watch the country disintegrate and default the last thing they wanted was to give back the money and relinquish their power in june this year the combative foreign minister at the time not if he was still repeating the same vegas sure and says and the same good intentions the consistent lead nowhere. i hear intentions your public sector has been looted for decades by the same sectarian powers that

still dominate all this is what we're trying if you're senator you never allow me to finish the phrase so i'm listening to you now you have to tell me what i have you finished perhaps you can get off the treadmill i haven't finished the question you think these warlords and power brokers are at your never letting me finish the answer you've been giving me a great answer for a couple of minutes and you think do you think these warlords and power brokers who control so much in lebanon will just sit around while you shine a light on all their dirty dealings and then they'll just say sorry and hand back all the billions that they've stolen you really think that's going to happen. we are not going to think so thanks for putting this question we know it's an uphill struggle we know it's a key challenge and you have to stand up to the challenge or fail i know the difficulties i fully agree with you about the seriousness of the challenges about how heavy they are weighing on us since he is but we have to come out with an answer otherwise you will not be taken the road that you promised to take that's a very important matter i fully agree about the challenges the nature of the

challenges and the magnitude of the challenges but you have to come out with an answer to these challenges and create a sort of rapture of the past and get on a start on a new foot your your country's record doesn't inspire confidence does it since the civil war lebanon has promised 4 times to reform in return for 4 it seems to enjoy something about the power you about the future if you want to go into the past you can have a lesson in history now that you have why should anyone trying to tell you we know the stories we learned the lessons we are trying telling the international community look at look at us and let's see if we succeed we are. planning to succeed we are committed to success because we have to save our country again i agree with you about your description of the situation which i already know we all know and i again am saying it's a major challenge let's see for you if you can succeed in facing up to it and this is the challenge that you are taking on our space to succeed this matter with the

cooperation it's our primary sponsor ability as the by his government it's not an easy matter i fully agree which is a very difficult matter because of this. international system that you rightly described and with which i fully agree with you but this is the only road that we have to take to create a rupture with the past the challenges are very important very deep but we have to take this is the only road to get out of this messy situation but 2 months later mr he took his own road and resigned. contradicting all the firm assurances he'd given in the interview and declaring that the government he'd so briefly served had shown a lack of will to reform of course it had to many lebanese the system had long since passed the point where it could be effectively reformed it now needed to be replaced from top to bottom but how to convince the power brokers of that even the slow motion collapse of the state signposted some often and in so many ways still

wasn't enough to persuade them that the old game was finally ending your prime minister warned last year that lebanon risk becoming a failing state even the most basic services now don't get provided to people how do you let it get so bad. i wouldn't call it love on the failed state when he was able to cope with 50 percent of its population as refugees $200.00 syrian displaced to lebanon per square kilometer. she said last october i've warned we are moving towards a collapse if matters committee here but when when solid state and successful states like in europe were not able to receive more than 10000 refugees and 11 on that it was one half 1000000 i wouldn't we have a very successful mordred. if it fades our model of diversity and

coexistence then everything will fade and ministers not successful when you can leave cope with the rubbish on the streets the rubbish you can blame the refugees for that can you know but this is this is our responsibility i cannot deny but this is a system that has become the activists say so inefficient and corrupt that it can't provide basic services depends how you how you measure the success of a society you can have a very democracy and prosperity but no cohesion and society so everything gets this integrated into society that currently of the rubbish will come clear the air for its people puts their health in danger shouldn't be governing she had not defending this but i think you have also political garbage and you have the war garbage that you are witnessing everywhere and i think this is still less costly than having it dealing people that's garbage and killing them like when they have 200000 people and and syria and in the region they are enforcing it but the government that

cannot provide basic services isn't worthy of the label of a government is it why don't you reserving because if i find somebody who can clear the law you are you are right on this but the problem is that we have vacancy and if you go to resign you stay there we cannot resign or blushed. because there will be no government there will be complete void and in lebanon if we had is our stay and gamble with the health of your people no no we should elect a president who should be a representative of his people a strong president was strong popularity and then we will have another government stood there are few in fighting manipulation. and you say this is a model of cooperation more than of coexistence this is a model of political paralysis is something that is yes it is so so one of the but you're really a little early to call paralysis talking of corporations talking of coexistence

because in the ban on somehow muslims and christians are still living together in the power sharing more than and parity where this does not exist anywhere else in the world and certainly is and she despite all the tensions around us are still not fighting in the battle and there's no leadership and there's no decisions yes this is from another central bank governor this is guide or sort of the part of this is that we have in the whole region because in lebanon on. how reflected in politics this this will of eliminating the other way are to blame your part of the system of the system that is most broken down a lot of politically another day when they were aware of global and collective responsibility last october thousands of demonstrators angry and frightened called for an end to political corruption and for a new untainted set of politicians to run the country to topple to the fray she's in rapid succession. the protest movement cuts across religious and political lines

with demands for the recovery of stolen funds and for the corrupt to be held accountable and there was plenty to account for years of squalor in the streets as politicians bickering over garbage collection contracts and electricity failed for hours on end month after month among those being called out for criticism was that hezbollah movement the self-styled party of god financed by iran and they didn't like it. let's talk about only long massive street protests that we've seen in lebanon in recent months one moment you seem to be listening to them then you claimed with no evidence that they were being exploited by the u.s. and israel and then last october you sent your thugs to beat up the demonstrators because they dared to criticize your leader absolutely no. i'm no i'm sorry i'm sorry i don't know you like that i'm not i don't know that he was sure that we send

our people do other proof it was widely reported that at the time when we went against the you know october and december widely you know the media show you what in the media i mean the media this is a massive voter measure there we don't make it out i can tell you i live mr mousawi nobody get up. i live here i tell you. i tell you do it we are not part of those who suppress the people we are with the masses we are with those who are the ones that i think we want to protect them we have the same issue actually we consider mr mousavi in december your supporters attacked an anti-government protest camp in central beirut and the army had to be called in to disperse the groups around the same time you and your allies from amal targeted other anti-government protest camps in different parts of lebanon so much for listening to the demonstrators and heeding their demands you beat them up. simply say this is not the way as a rule or whether you like it or dislike it represents a large component of

a society it's a main political party political actor and on and everybody is welcome to join and help us and this whether directly being involved directly supportive or not supportive of the government let's see for the observers turner observers and external observers like you say if you succeed you say this and i hear what you say why should the west lift a finger to help a government actively being constructed by hizbullah which is widely viewed around the. terrorists or on set i think as a point of view so it's not absolute reality is widely seen around the world as a terrorist cell and as a noise ation. is not seen around the concert by some but it is not what this some i don't agree with this view you may disagree either logically politically strategically with a lebanese political party or libya's national resistance movement that's your

right to do so but it's a major represent a major component of the of any society social component and political component what i'm saying take us to the past as a government telling our western countries with which we are committed to develop the best out of relations culturally politically socially economically strategically with the western countries are very close to most of those countries who have very good relations which want to develop to deepen strengthen and a lot of these western countries take us to test about what we are doing what we are planning to do not and about what is said here or there or about any ideological sloganeering or at the logical views according to the drug enforcement agency has been increasingly relies on criminal revenue from sources that include the lebanese diaspora group members affiliates and such are the organization is even competed for money laundering contracts in the same. as colombian drug cartels and other criminal organizations so you belong with some shady new groups on the

international crime scene don't you you can you can continue to mention only if you want to continue this episode as long as you want you can continue to mention as much as you want of examples but this is not going to change the truth that these are things are put in the most of the western media against hezbollah or against any. religious stance move against an existence group in order to distort the image in order to justify and he suggests against that you asked for examples i gave you so let's talk if we may about your support for the assad government bashar al assad in syria despite its shocking disregard for human life especially civilians you could hardly claim of what they've been doing or don't you the party of god have anything to say about policies of rape torture and extermination. forces

have been carrying out you've got no principles no red lines as far as that sort of behavior is concerned. let me ask you about the western media about your government of the western governments of the united states governments and what they did to the israelis who crush the people every day who are killed by palestine and who by parts of lebanon who by parts of the golan heights and who continue to occupy also they want the next part of jordan not parts of of other places i mean if we ask those questions in other programs i'm talking to you and i as vala i'm talking to you about hezbollah because you represent hezbollah and i'm asked why you sign on to why you support hezbollah regime in syria will the faeries out extermination policies towards its own people will think about it cause we are fighting we will we will we will fight think clearly globes who beheaded people who took the hearts of people who class d. g.

the children who made an illusion this is what we were fighting that are creating groups it is a priority because they came and they got it digressions against our part of the country you know we had a wide open editions of his love and north lebanon but on mr those are we lost that video could be important thing is that by lending mr assad's your support you became complicit in everything he did and these are crimes against humanity the un high commissioner for human rights in syria got a torture chamber they are complicit they are complicit with the with mohammad been said about all of those there are threats that this is making in yemen. the united states and britain and all governments who are complicit so it's the west's fault along with everyone else's lots of blame to be shared around so much in fact that it doesn't actually stick to any one the parties take responsibility in name only and they stay in their post whatever mistakes or crimes they've committed it's

a system of accountability but with 0 consequences except of course for the people who have to live with all the criminality and incompetence poverty and now hunger small wonder that their patience is close to exhausted. how long do you expect people to wait for these rights that you're probably seeing these reforms that you're probably seeing the end to corruption and as i say and we're just back our looted money give us back our looted money this is what they say when one of the people of lebanon going to get back i know we are very much we are very much aware and committed to that it's not the government that looted the money before it's not business government that created the situation that was before but however we are committed to do all what we can with our friends again saying inside and outside reaching to everybody in order to get out of this vicious destructive circle that lebanon found itself in i understand very legitimate frustration as well as the

very legitimate demands of the iranian population of which i'm a man but i believe any citizen before being about his official we understand these problems we have to get together and try to get out of this very difficult situation at least we have a commitment and the clarity that we need to get out of this difficult situation so i ask where are the reforms why aren't you pushing for them you blame the system. being looking about reviving you in government if you don't bring this ailments i'm talking i'm talking about the ailments of the system that has been going on going on for so many years i mean for decades now we have really reached we should be held responsible for what happened about these responsible those who are in the government we are part of the government we don't deny responsibility we have to embrace our full responsibility of this we're ready to take part in the small responsibility but the still when you talk about the kind of reforms that we want

to do they should be structural we are one component of the mosaic of components of course the u.s. is in the lebanese society we take our share of the responsibilities and they should be blamed for long. they did if even just a few of those comforting words from our politicians had been turned into action then lebanon might look very different from the way it does today but no single political figure or faction appears to have the oath or a teacher bring about fundamental change and there's little chance of the different groups agreeing on a single course of action as for the people many say they believe if they could food prices have skyrocketed unemployment is rife the banks are severely limited access to save. for now 2 important questions hanging on so the over lebanon can the cash strapped west afford to give it the emergency support it needs and then i highly volatile region like this with conflict never far from the surface

come it really afford not.

to. the a. little . more. compatible with the band. most muslim women choose between their faith and self-determination. i don't want anyone to tell me what the right moment headscarves. are striving to reform their islam away from traditional prejudices. in islam.

consistent w. . o. the society inherent in the labor market diversity is called morals gender identity background image orientation health for the military should be the deciding factor in career success. we talked to this human resources director is diversity just lip service to our reality made in germany. in 90 minutes on t w. more. closely . listen carefully.

don't move to the soon. to be a good. match. to discover the. subscribe to the documentary. we can see them. sometimes since. the lead limits for the stronger the mud separates the lead. so i'm still getting. the lead we celebrate the anniversary of germany's reunification

lead to certain w. . the a. plane . this is it of you news a lack of from our age and disgust across the united states to protest some breakouts after prosecutors are bringing no charges against the least for the killing of spray on a tailor 26 year old health worker was shot dead by police during a raid on her home also coming up the european union and makes another attempt to repair.