Sukom expels Greenpeace members

Lebanese channels reported yesterday that Greenpeace members were forbidden to take samples of burnt material that they suspect of being toxic from Sukom, a sewage works company in an area of quarantine, near the port of Beirut.

Though they were expelled by Sukom workers, the photographers who escorted Greenpeace caught some scenes where the head of Greenpeace in Lebanon, Mr. Fouad Hamdan, was handled roughly by the Sukom guard. Sukon, a branch of Sukleen, collects garbage for the government.

"Important quantities of toxic garbage are burned there, mainly produced by hospitals," said Hamdan, who was upset by the way Greenpeace was chased away and forbidden to take the samples they wanted to analyze. "This proves that there is something Sukom wants to hide," was the conclusion of Greenpeace's statement.