The Daily Star - March 14 calls on Mikati and Cabinet to pay STL dues - September 08, 2011

BEIRUT: The March 14 General Secretariat called on Prime Minister Najib Mikati Wednesday to maintain his commitment to paying the country’s dues to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, in order to fulfill the nation’s international obligations and achieve justice in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
“We urge Mikati to take immediate action to get the government to pay its dues to the STL, which the Cabinet said it supports in ‘principle,’” said a statement released by the coalition following their weekly meeting.
The statement said that Lebanon owed the STL $32 million this month, and warned that not paying would mean that the country is not fulfilling its international obligations.
In 2007, the Lebanese government and the United Nations agreed to establish an international court to probe the assassination of Hariri. The Lebanese government is due to pay $65 million this year, which is 49 percent of the total cost for year for The Hague-based court.
“Ending Lebanon’s financial commitment to the STL would be yet another blow to the Lebanese people who have reiterated their demand for justice for all the assassinations that have taken place in the country,” the statement added.
The coalition also criticized Mikati for issuing “deceptive” statements on his commitment to paying Lebanon’s dues to the STL. “Mikati’s commitment to funding the STL is contradicted by statements released from other ministers in the same government,” said the statement.
Separately, former Labor Minister Butros Harb attended a March 14 gathering in Australia Wednesday, during which Lebanese expatriates in Sydney held a question-and-answer session with Harb on the ongoing developments in Lebanon and the Middle East.