By signing this petition, I demand that the current Consul General of Lebanon in New York City resign immediately. The current consul does not represent me and the consulate is hereby rendered nothing more than a mere procedural necessity. Any event or position taken in the name of the Lebanese people will be met with explicit protest until the resignation is submitted.

On the 4th of August, 2020, around 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in Hangar 12 of Beirut’s port. To date, 200 people have died, over 5,000 have been wounded and more than 300,000 have been displaced. 

We hold the government along with the sectarian-political regime that allowed such corruption and mismanagement to exist directly responsible for this explosion and all its implications. They have lost popular legitimacy. Killon Yaaneh Killon, and they will be held accountable for this crime.

Despite the adamant call for resignation by her constituents, the Consul General, Abir Taha has decided not to resign. Even worse, she has decided to victimize herself & her staff after being faced with protests from her hurting community and shut down the consulate, holding Lebanese residents’ administrative needs as ransom. 

With all the destruction and loss back home, we have no tears to shed or emotional energy to expend on the “struggles” Abir is going through today. Abir Taha is not a victim. She is a direct representative of the lethal ruling class that decimated Beirut on August 4th and continues to violently attack protestors in Lebanon today! 

She uses the same antics: relying on religious figures to maintain legitimacy, threatening protestors and falsely claiming her independence from the corrupt ruling regime. Most recently, the Consul General decided to shut the Consulate’s doors, mirroring the practices that banks and political representatives in Lebanon have adopted since the start of the October 17 revolution.

People in Lebanon are risking their lives everyday to remove the current ruling class, it is our duty to mirror their fight in the face of any representative of this regime globally.

-

Links to Latest News:

• قنصل لبنان في نيويورك: "الباسيلية" بكامل عنصريتها 
  https://www.almodon.com/society/2020/8/12/قنصل-لبنان-في-نيويورك-الباسيلية-بكامل-عنصريتها 
  
  "سلسلة اعتصامات أمام القنصلية في نيويورك، نظّم الناشطون اللبنانيون- الأميركيون سلسلة اعتصامات أو وقفات بدءاً من يوم الخميس وصولاً إلى الإثنين. رفعوا خلالها شعارات الدولة الفاسدة والمنظومة القاتلة، داعين طه إلى الاستقالة بصفتها التمثيلية للسلطة. ردّدوا شعارات ضدّ النازية والعنصرية، ما جذب انتباه الإعلام الأميركي. وقام عدد من الفنانين بينهم، بنثر زجاج مكسور على درج القنصلية، كتعبير فنّي عن بيروت المهدّمة جراء التفجير. فكان أن دعت القنصل المتظاهرين بتشكيل وفد للتحاور معها. وبعد رفضهم، اضطرت إلى النزول والنقاش معهم في الشارع، حيث أكدوا على موقفهم وعلى ضرورة استقالتها من تمثيل السلطة.
  
  تهديد ووعيد
  
  كأنّ طه خارجة من رحم المنظومة اللبنانية، اتصلت بعدد من الناشطين، وكان أول ما قالته "أنت عارف حالك مع مين عم تحكي"؟ في البحث عن اسم طه في سجلّات وزارة الخارجية اللبنانية والسلك الديبلوماسي، يتّضح أنها من المحسوبين على التيار الوطني الحرّ. لم يتمّ ترفيعها إلى الدرجة الأولى ومنحها رتبة سفير، وكان اسمها من بين الأسماء الإشكالية التي طرحت على طاولة مجلس الوزراء عام 2017. فمُنحت صفة سفير في كينشاسا من دون أن تُعطى الرتبة رسمياً. خدمت في الإدارة المركزية في ولاية الوزير جبران باسيل. وقد يكون ذلك خير تبرير لارتباطها بصفات "النازية والعنصرية".
  
  في معرض دفاعها عن نفسها، تؤكد طه أنها أبلغت وزارة الخارجية بتهكير حساباتها الإلكترونية أكثر من مرة. يبدو أنّ المقرصن الملعون، المفترض، فاضي الأشغال ومتفرّغ لحركتها ومنشوراتها. وفي الحقيقة، لم تعمل لا على استيعاب غضب اللبنانيين الملوّعين في نيويورك ولا على حمايتهم، بل وضعتهم في خطر شديد.
  
  بتهديداتها وعنصريتها، هي الابنة الشرعية والفعلية للمنظومة اللبنانية."
  
  
•    New York’s Lebanese Help Beirut From Afar While Demanding Aid Transparency and Consul Resignation - The City NYC https://www.thecity.nyc/2020/8/11/21364459/nyc-lebanese-help-from-afar-while-demanding-transparency
  
  “On Monday, mayoral hopeful and current Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams attended a vigil that had been promoted by Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn Heights.
  
  The same church had posted a statement on Facebook supporting Lebanese Consul General Abir Taha Audi after she traded insults with and threatened to call the police on protesters outside the Consulate on East 76th Street in Manhattan on Aug. 6”
  
  
• Statement in the Aftermath of August 4, 2020 Explosion
  Meghterbin Mejtemiin New York City (MM NYC) https://lebexpatcom.home.blog/2020/08/06/example-post/
  
  “We hold the government directly responsible for this explosion and all its implications, along with the sectarian-political regime that created the conditions for such corruption and mismanagement to exist unquestioned. This incident is the greatest example of their negligence and greed. Our government and all associated institutions have lost popular legitimacy. We do not wish to single out any political formation from within the Lebanese sectarian regime, and we do not intend to fall within the cracks of sectarian politics in Lebanon. Killon Yaaneh Killon: whether they directly participated, turned a blind eye, claimed ignorance — they will all be held accountable for this crime.”  
  
  
• Press Release Regarding August 6 Protests at Lebanese Consulate, NYC - Meghterbin Mejtemiin New York City (MM NYC) https://lebexpatcom.home.blog/2020/08/07/press-release/
  
  “Following the unacceptable threats by the Consul General of Lebanon and her staff towards the Lebanese community during the protest on August 6, 2020, we demand the resignation of Consul General Abir Taha Audi. We expect that she responds by the end of this week.”
  
  
• Zero Resignations in New York City
  Meghterbin Mejtemiin New York City (MM NYC) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDvJZGGptWW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 
  
  “After numerous calls for her resignation both through direct protest and numerous emails from her constituents, the Lebanese Consul General in New York, Abir Taha Audi has refused to step down. Therefore she remains a blatant representation of the corrupt political class ruling Lebanon. This will not be tolerated nor will it be accepted anymore. 
  
  As such we denounce the legitimacy of this consulate as it has proven its incompetence  time and again, in its inability  to assist its constituents in times of crisis and its unwillingness to listen to their demands when it has become clear that a complete removal of the current political regime is required.”