Daily Star - Funding flurry as STL chief visits, November 24th 2011

BEIRUT: The head of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon held talks with Lebanese leaders Wednesday on the STL’s work as Prime Minister Najib Mikati reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to U.N. resolutions, saying he was pursuing his efforts to pay Lebanon’s share to the court’s budget within the legal deadline.

In the meantime, ministerial sources said that efforts were under way to find a solution for the divisive issue of paying Lebanon’s dues to the STL in order to avoid a Cabinet vote that could put the fate of the government into jeopardy.

Sir David Baragwanath, the new STL president, met with Sleiman, Mikati and Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour to brief them on the tribunal’s work on his first visit to Beirut amid signs that Mikati is prodding his Hezbollah-dominated Cabinet for a quick action on paying Lebanon’s more than $30 million share to the tribunal’s funding ahead of a Dec. 15 deadline.

Baragwanath, New Zealand’s judge, replaced Antonio Cassese who died of cancer last month. His visit came as Mikati is coming under mounting local and international pressure to fund the STL.

Baragwanath, accompanied by the STL’s Vice President Judge Ralph Riachy, briefed Sleiman on the progress in the tribunal’s work. The STL president did not speak to reporters after the three meetings, promising to make a detailed statement at the end of his visit.

STL spokesperson Marten Youssef described Baragwanath’s visit as “very positive and productive” on all fronts.

“The issue of the Security Council was not raised. All Lebanese authorities [Baragwanath] met with reiterated in general the need to abide by international obligations,” Youssef told The Daily Star.

During his meeting with Mikati at the Grand Serail, Baragwanath discussed cooperation between Lebanon and the Netherlands-based STL. Baragwanath said what was important was “to achieve justice and bring those involved in the crime” [of Hariri’s assassination] to book,” according to a statement released by Mikati’s office. He added that Lebanon was 11 months behind the payment of its share to the tribunal’s 2011 budget.

The tribunal’s 2011 budget is $65.7 million, of which Lebanon owes around $36 million. Under U.N. Resolution 1757, Lebanon has to pay 49 percent of the court’s annual budget.

During his meeting with Lebanese officials, Baragwanath said that relevant states had informed him that nothing could delay or terminate the tribunal’s work. He said he expected the trial of suspects in Hariri’s assassination to take three years before verdicts are announced, Lebanese sources said.

The STL has indicted four Hezbollah members in Hariri’s killing and demanded their arrests. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has rejected the indictment, vowing never to turn over the four suspects.

On Nov. 11 the STL convened its first hearing to discuss the viability of in absentia trials against the four suspects.

Mikati renewed Lebanon’s respect of international resolutions, particularly Resolution1757 that established the STL in 2007, including the tribunal’s funding.

“I hope that the tribunal’s work will remain in its legal framework away from selectivity or political exploitation, while taking into account observations by some relating to certain aspects of the entire tribunal,” Mikati said during the meeting with the STL president.

He stressed that he was pursuing “the means to finalize the file relating to [payment of] Lebanon’s share in preparation for taking the right decision regarding funding within the legal deadline,” according to a statement released by Mikati’s office.

The Cabinet is expected to discuss the issue of the STL’s funding during its meeting scheduled on Nov. 30 after Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi sent a letter to the Cabinet demanding a loan from the treasury to pay Lebanon ‘s share to the STL’s funding.

The STL president is expected to meet with other Lebanese officials involved in the work of the tribunal.

Meanwhile, the STL’s Trial Chamber decided to await response from Lebanese authorities on their efforts to arrest the accused before deciding whether to begin proceedings in absentia.

The STL’s funding is emerging as a major bone of contention within the Cabinet and also between the March 8 and March 14 camps. Mikati is coming under pressure from the opposition March 14 parties and international powers to fund the STL. The U.S has warned Lebanon it could face “serious consequences” should it fail to finance the tribunal.

Hezbollah and its March 8 allies, which staunchly oppose the STL altogether, let alone funding it, have a majority in the Cabinet and can block any decision.

The parliamentary Future bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri accused the government of stalling over the payment of Lebanon’s share to the STL’s funding. A statement issued after the bloc’s weekly meeting warned that failure to honor Lebanon’s international obligations, particularly toward the STL’s funding, will put the country in “an extremely dangerous and embarrassing situation.”

“The funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is a priority and a basic right for the Lebanese and the parents of the martyrs. Therefore, it is a moral case with which Lebanon must comply and fully cooperate with this special tribunal,” the statement said.

Amid the sharp split within the Cabinet over the STL’s funding, ministerial sources said that efforts have been intensified to reach a solution that allows the government to approve the payment of Lebanon’s share for 2011 without causing a crisis within the Cabinet.

Despite Hezbollah’s opposition to the tribunal’s funding by the Cabinet, there are signs that this situation could change, the sources told The Daily Star. But if no change occurred, this would prompt Mikati to resign, the sources said. According to the sources, a meeting was to be held Wednesday night between Mikati’s envoys and senior Hezbollah officials to continue consultations on the funding issue.

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