Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni said on Tuesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s work will not be affected by the yet to be drafted ministerial statement of the newly-formed cabinet.
“The STL won’t be affected by the ministerial statement despite some parties’ efforts to avoid mentioning it [in the statement],” he told LBC television.
“The ministerial statement will be a mere ‘piece of paper’ if not [backed] by national consensus,” Marouni added.
He also slammed Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun’s manner of attacking the STL.
“I understand that Hezbollah defends itself and attacks the STL, but Aoun’s behavior toward the tribunal is unexplainable,” Marouni added.
The Kataeb Party MP also said that Hezbollah fears the fall of the Syrian regime, “which is a basic support for the party,” adding that the international community’s behavior toward Syria is more flexible than other Arab countries.
The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati—was formed on June 12 after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties.
Before bringing down Saad Hariri’s cabinet in January, Hezbollah had been pressing him to disavow the STL, which is probing the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri and likely to implicate members of the Shia group.
Hariri’s cabinet recognized the STL in its ministerial statement.
Meanwhile, the Syrian government is engaged in a deadly crackdown on protesters who since March have been demanding the end of 48 years of rule by the Baath Party, which is controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
-NOW Lebanon
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