Collective Action
Ain Dara residents protest cement factory
Residents of Aley’s Ain Dara Municipality gathered outside the Industry Ministry demanding it revoke the license of a controversial planned cement factory Thursday.
At the protest, Ain Dara Mayor Fouad Heidamous accused businessman Pierre Fattoush, who owns the factory, of “illegally obtaining money, destroying the region’s environment and polluting its water,” according to the state-run National News Agency. He added Ain Dara was ranked the 11th most polluted area in Lebanon as a result of quarries and crushers, citing a recent report by NGO Green Globe.
In a statement released in response to the protest, Fattoush’s Al Arz Cement company said the Industry Ministry had issued the license in compliance with the law, and that the factory would be within “environmental provisions specified by local and international law.”