Daily Star - Qassem says STL wants to quiz more Hizbullah members - September 24, 2010

BEIRUT: Hizbullah’s second in command Naim Qassem has revealed that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) asked to interview a second group of Hizbullah supporters as part of its probe into the 2005 killing of former Premier Rafik Hariri.

Qassem told Al-Afkar magazine in remarks to be published Friday that Hizbullah has not yet taken a decision in response to the request, which he said was made after the recent Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Hizbullah members have already been called to testify before the STL, which the party has dismissed as an Israeli project aimed at undermining the resistance in Lebanon.

Political divisions over the STL have stoked tensions in Lebanon, prompting fears of renewed conflict.

Syrian-Saudi efforts to ease tensions between the March 14 camp and opposition groups over the UN-backed STL succeeded in softening the tone of political discourse between rival groups on Thursday but failed to lay the foundations of any resolution to the issue.

A meeting between Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah remains unlikely under the current circumstances, according to Future Movement MP Mohammad Qabbani, while a ministerial source denied to the Central News Agency (CNA) an upcoming visit by Hariri to Syria.

The source also denied that a meeting between Saudi Prince Abdel Aziz bin Abdallah and Hariri took place in Beirut during a visit by the Saudi king’s son to Lebanon.

Qabbani said in remarks published by Al-Osbou’ al-Arabi that Hariri rejected tying the meeting to any pre-conditions, particularly the dismantling of the March 14 coalition.

Information Minister Tareq Mitri said Thursday that Syria and Saudi Arabia have stepped up efforts to preserve stability in Lebanon by urging a halt to provocative political discourse.

“Saudi Arabia and Syria have reminded all the Lebanese political forces that they still see themselves as guarantors of stability and strongly encouraged them to put an end to their inflammatory rhetoric and to calm down,” Information Minister Tareq Mitri told media.

Syrian President Bashar Assad contacted Hariri late Wednesday to discuss developments, the premier’s office said, while Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon met a Hizbullah delegation that same evening.

Lebanese observers said the Saudi and Syrian efforts were clear signs that both countries were keen on calming tensions in Beirut over reports that the STL was set to implicate Hizbullah in the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

There are fears that should the court indict Hizbullah members, this could lead to a Sunni-Shiite conflict similar to the one that brought the country close to civil war in May 2008.

A Lebanese official told AFP that while the mediation appears to have cooled tempers for now, it was not clear whether calm would prevail once the STL issues its indictments, possibly by year’s end.

“It is still premature to know if Saudi-Syrian understanding can hold the situation after the indictment,” said the official, who asked not to be identified.

“We are talking about stability holding with the support of Syria and Saudi Arabia in the immediate future.”

Hizbullah has made clear that it would not stand idle should any of its members be indicted and in recent weeks has upped its campaign to discredit the court.

But March 14 MP and Labor Minister Butros Harb reiterated on Thursday that no compromises would take place at the expense of the STL. “We are supportive of those presenting an opportunity to accomplish justice … but it is unnacceptable to await any efforts to abolish the STL.”

Qassem told Kuwaiti Al-Rai that his party had given time for Saudi efforts to “redress the wrongful course” of the UN probe, which he said was clearly bent on issuing “an unjust indictment.”

“We are in a test period and in light of the results of the Saudi mediation we will take a clear-cut position on the tribunal,” Qassem said.

Commenting on the repercussions of the ongoing tensions, Tripoli MP Najib Mikati dismissed the probability of a change in government after media reports said opposition parties could bring down the Cabinet if Hariri does not succumb to their demands.

Mikati added that even if consensus is reached among the Lebanese to abolish the tribunal, such a step “will not be easy since the decision is not in our hands but at the same time we hope that the court is credible.”

Following a meeting with Hariri Thursday, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams told reporters that the tribunal is an independent entity whose work continues.

“It cannot be affected by events of one day,” Williams added.

As Hizbullah officials continued Thursday to demand false witnesses to be put on trial, reports said Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar would submit his recommendations in the Cabinet’s upcoming session. – The Daily Star, with AFP