Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday said that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) indictment for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is a tool “to spread chaos, not justice.”
“The investigation [into Rafik Hariri’s murder] was based on the stories of witnesses who gave unreliable testimonies,” he added in a speech given in a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the passing of Shia cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.
Berri added that his Amal Movement would stand behind the new cabinet and its way of dealing with the tribunal’s indictment, adding that previous governments “made illegal and politicized decisions” regarding the STL.
The speaker also called on parties to not pressure the cabinet before it starts its work, a reference to March 14’s statement calling on PM Najib Mikati to either commit to the UN-backed STL or step down.
Berri also warned that there are attempts to make Lebanon “a platform to target Syria.”
Before bringing down Saad Hariri’s cabinet in January, March 8 had been pressing him to disavow the tribunal. The coalition had also insisted that the cabinet resolve the “false witnesses” controversy over false testimonies to the international investigation into the Rafik Hariri murder.
The new cabinet’s ministerial statement voices the government’s support for the STL to continue a path toward justice away from politicization and in a way that does not harm Lebanon’s stability.
Last Thursday, the STL handed Attorney General Said Mirza arrest warrants for four members of the Iranian-and Syrian-backed Hezbollah in connection to the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri.
The whereabouts of the four remain unknown.
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