Change and Reform bloc MP leader Aoun said on Tuesday evening that there are two Lebanese stances regarding the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and “we need to choose the most suitable one.”
“We all know that the tribunal is illegitimate and we are for leaving this issue to be settled by the council of ministers,” Aoun told reporters following his bloc’s weekly meeting.
Aoun also said that after the approval of UN Security Council Resolution 1757, which established the international tribunal in 2007, the Change and Reform bloc sent a communiqué to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon stating that the international community was putting itself in a situation in which it might be held responsible for any possible disagreements between Lebanese parties.
In the 2007 communiqué addressed to the UN chief, Aoun also urged him to “support Lebanon and all its institutions, not [the then-Premier Fouad] Siniora’s government.”
The Change and Reform bloc MP further said that there are laws that the Lebanese government needs to abide by, adding that paying Lebanon’s share of STL funding is like paying “a ransom” for which “the government has to take responsibility.”
Four Hezbollah members have been indicted by the STL for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. However, the Shia group strongly denies the charges and refuses to cooperate with the court.
Lebanon contributes 49 percent of the UN backed court’s annual subsidy.
Turning to the political situation in Lebanon, Aoun said that the trajectory of the government “is not [effective] and it is not what Lebanese hoped for,” and went on to criticize the delay in approving the state budget.
Aoun also slammed the latest decision taken by the Middle East Airlines (MEA) to fire one of its employees, saying it was an “arbitrary measure.”
MEA pilots on Monday overwhelmingly voted in favor of a 48-hour strike in protest at the dismissal of a colleague undergoing cancer treatment.
Asked about whether Change and Reform Ministers will attend Wednesday’s cabinet session, Aoun said that there are “complicated issues,” adding: “I do not think that there is a possibility to resolve them, but we can [try resolving these matters].”
Change and Reform bloc ministers and two other ministers from the National Struggle Front boycotted a cabinet session Last Friday.
Asked about whether Change and Reform Ministers will attend Wednesday’s cabinet session, Aoun said that there are “complicated issues,” adding: “I do not think that there is a possibility to resolve them, but we can [try resolving these matters].”
Change and Reform bloc ministers and two other ministers from the National Struggle Front boycotted a cabinet session Last Friday.
Regarding the rocket launch from southern Lebanon into Israel on Tuesday, Aoun said: “We do not know who launched the missiles,” however he added that “there are things” along the Lebanese-Israeli border that are neither under Hezbollah’s control, nor are they under UNIFIL control.
A Lebanese army spokesperson confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that a rocket was fired overnight from southern Lebanon toward Israel.
He also said Israel had retaliated by firing four rockets.
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