BEIRUT: A Cabinet session set to convene Wednesday won’t be a decisive one regarding “false witnesses” in the investigation into the murder of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
A senior source from the March 8 coalition told The Daily Star Sunday that the ministers’ failure to reach an agreement on the matter at the next session “is not the end of the world,” adding that he did not expect a vote to be held on the issue.
“All domestic contacts are marginal, the key issue is the Syrian-Saudi talks,” said the source, adding: “Everyone is in a wait-and-see mode awaiting the outcome of the Syrian-Saudi talks, what we are monitoring is the outcome of the Syrian-Saudi differences over Iraq.”
According to the source, if the outcome of the Syrian-Saudi talks are negative, then this will have a negative impact on Lebanon, and if the result is positive, then this would have a positive effect on the country.
Syria and Saudi Arabia back different candidates for the prime minister’s post in Iraq.
A political source told The Daily Star that Saudi Prince Abdel-Aziz Bin Abdullah, who paid a short visit to Syria Sunday, mainly discussed the situation in Lebanon with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported Sunday that Prince Abdel-Aziz would deliver a letter from Saudi King Abdullah Ibn Abdel-Aziz to Assad and that the two would discuss “a mechanism to ease political tensions that resulted from a call by [Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan] Nasrallah to boycott the international tribunal [probing Hariri’s murder].”
Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said he was not notified about any “middle or final solution” to the issue, confirming it was on the agenda of Wednesday’s Cabinet session.
A report forwarded by Najjar indicated the issue did not satisfy conditions required in order to be referred to the Justice Council, but should be dealt with by the Lebanese judiciary.
The Hizbullah-led March 8 forces insisted the issue should be handled by the Justice Council, while the rival March 14 coalition headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri supported Najjar’s view.
Once referred to the Justice Council, any verdict related to the matter could not be appealed.
Speaking to Voice of Lebanon radio station, Najjar reiterated his position that referring the issue of “false witnesses” to the Justice Council was not possible “in light of the clarity of the legal text in Lebanon.” “The dominant opinion is that the Justice Council has exceptional prerogatives and the Cabinet can’t go into judicial affairs,” he added.
Echoing Najjar, head of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblatt said he had no information about a solution to the issue of “false witnesses” that led to calling for the Cabinet session.
Echoing Najjar, head of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblatt said he had no information about a solution to the issue of “false witnesses” that led to calling for the Cabinet session.
A source close to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told The Daily Star that contacts between Berri, Hariri and President Michel Sleiman have never stopped, noting that there were no substantial contacts over the issue of “false witnesses.”
While confirming that the Cabinet would convene Wednesday, the source said Berri was not actively involved in the contacts, but was awaiting steps to be taken by Sleiman, expecting no decision to be taken by the speaker before Tuesday.
Hizbullah stepped up its offensive on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) by calling on the Lebanese to boycott its probes.
In a brief televised speech last week, Nasrallah said two STL investigators, who were obstructed from carrying out their investigations by a crowd of women at a medical clinic in Beirut’s southern suburb, violated ethical, religious and humanitarian norms by asking for a gynecologist’s patient records.
He called upon the Lebanese to boycott STL probes, saying everything presented to it was passed to Israel.
In July, Nasrallah slammed the STL as an “Israeli project” designed to spark civil strife in the country. He expected members of his party to be indicted by an impending STL indictment
Hizbullah’s number two Sheikh Naiim Qassem said the party would defend itself against any indictment targeting it.
“All foreign diplomats are asking about our reaction following the issuance of the indictment, and the answer is: we will defend ourselves,” Qassem told Qatari newspaper Al-Watan in remarks Sunday. “Our reaction to the indictment has to do with the circumstances and the atmosphere surrounding its issuance … There are several possible scenarios for Hizbullah’s reactions which we can’t predict from now,” he added.
Concerning the issue of “false witnesses,” Qassem said that the Lebanese judiciary would have probed the matter “several years ago” if it had been seriously looking for truth. “Hizbullah wants to know the real criminal that false witnesses wanted to hide,” said Qassem, denying his party planned to topple the Cabinet by withdrawing from it over the issue of “false witnesses.”
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