Controversy Surrounds Civil War Museum

According to a prominent member of Beirut's business community, Abdel Menem Ariss, the head of the Beirut City Council, proposed to convert a war torn building in Sodeco into a museum of rememberance for the Lebanese civil war.
The board agreed to the idea and an invitation to tender was placed.
After offers ranging from LL800 million ($530,000) to LL4 billion were brought forward, the Beirut Council board decided that it had budgetary priorities and that the project would have to be shelved.
Ariss took it to the ex-Minister of the Interior, Hassan El Sabaa, who was also in charge of town and city boards and got his approval for the highest tender of LL4 billion.
When some members of the Beirut board learned about the affair, they threatened to resign.