BEIRUT: The Cabinet on Monday postponed discussions on the 2011 draft budget amid reports that opposition ministers raised the issue of financing the international tribunal for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Four ministers who did not attend the session are presently with President Michel Sleiman in his tour to the United States and Mexico. Three other ministers also did not attend the meeting for various reasons.
The session, chaired by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, failed to reach any understanding on the issue of Lebanon’s allocation to the tribunal.
“Opposition ministers expressed their indignation over the introduction of a clause in the 2011 budget which authorizes the government to allocate its share of the total tribunal’s budget. The debate was sharp but was under control. At the end Hariri urged the ministers not to leak any information to the media,” a source told The Daily Star.
Lebanon has pledged to finance 49 percent of the tribunal’s budget.
Information Minister Tarek Mitri said that ministers reviewed some of the main articles in the new budget and agreed to postpone discussions until Wednesday.
He added that the ministers have agreed on most of the items and proposals in the 2010 draft budget.
Mitri dodged a question about whether ministers agreed to endorse the budget for the tribunal.
“I can assure that the atmosphere in the Cabinet was not as tense as some news media have reported. All ministers agreed not to divulge any information to the media,” Mitri said. The budget should be passed by the Cabinet and the Parliament in order to become effective. – The Daily Star
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