The cabinet avoided on Wednesday discussing the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that is facing controversy over the March 8 forces’ rejection to pay Lebanon’s fees to the STL unless the is amended.
“Nothing has changed, and the funding will not be approved,” sources close to the March 8 forces told al-Liwaa newspaper on Thursday.
The sources stressed that the tribunal “will not be an excuse for the Israelis and Americans to target Lebanon and its resistance… We will not bargain on this.”
A western diplomatic source noted to al-Mustaqbal news channel that Prime Minister Najib Miqati asked U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during their meeting in New York to urge the U.N. to submit a written request to the Lebanese government to confirm Lebanon’s commitment to the international resolutions.
The source added that the request was to convince Miqati’s allies with the importance of committing to the STL and not to confront the international community.
A ministerial source told al-Liwaa that a suggested way out could be through issuing a decree that approves paying Lebanon’s $33 million dues, signed by President Michel Suleiman, the PM, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi and caretaking Justice Minister Walid al-Daouq, since Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi committed himself to the Free Patriotic Movement decision not to approve the funding.
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that Lebanon received on Wednesday a formal request from the United Nations to pay Lebanon’s share in the STL.
The STL had released arrest warrants against four Hizbullah members, accusing them of being involved in Hariri’s Feb. 2005 murder.
The party has announced that it will not cooperate with the tribunal, describing it as an American-Israeli product aimed at destroying it.
A dispute recently rose in Lebanon on whether the March 8-dominant government would commit to funding the tribunal.
However, Suleiman and Miqati had committed themselves to the funding of the STL during their visit to New York.
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