The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) needs to “restore its credibility with the public by avoiding politicization,” President Michel Sleiman said in an interview on New TV on Sunday evening.
Sleiman said that the tribunal’s credibility has been diminished by leaks as well as by the way it handled the issue of the four generals who were detained in 2005 on suspicion of involvement in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination. The generals were released in April 2009 due to lack of evidence.
The court must demonstrate its independence by “looking into whoever has an interest in the [Rafik Hariri murder],” he said.
Asked whether he feared war in Lebanon if the STL indicts Hezbollah members, Sleiman said that no one has informed him of the indictment’s date or contents, that “war happens if we want war,” and that an issue of such magnitude must not be dealt with hastily.
In July, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that the STL is an Israeli project and will indict Hezbollah members. March 8 politicians have since demanded the abolition of the tribunal, and the Lebanese judiciary has reportedly relayed to the STL information which Hezbollah has presented and says implicates Israel in the Hariri murder.
Sleiman also described Hezbollah’s reception of former General Security chief Jamil as-Sayyed at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport as an “objectionable approach to an event but not a rehearsal for a coup,” adding that there is a need for a “return to the law and working within state institutions.”
On September 18, armed Hezbollah bodyguards escorted Sayyed from the airport after his arrival from Paris. Earlier that week, he had been summoned by the Lebanese judiciary for questioning over speeches in which he threatened Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri has no intention of resigning or changing the cabinet, Sleiman also said, adding that “nothing [about the current situation] justifies changing the government.” An extraordinary national dialogue session is possible, he said.
Sleiman also said that UNIFIL is not sufficiently deterring Israeli violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and is only holding Lebanon responsible for the implementation of the resolution, before pointing to the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Shebaa Farms and the northern part of Ghajar village.
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) - Information Branch ought to be expanded and “controlled, and it should have missions that do not conflict with [those of] other agencies,” he added.
Sleiman said that the tribunal’s credibility has been diminished by leaks as well as by the way it handled the issue of the four generals who were detained in 2005 on suspicion of involvement in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination. The generals were released in April 2009 due to lack of evidence.
The court must demonstrate its independence by “looking into whoever has an interest in the [Rafik Hariri murder],” he said.
Asked whether he feared war in Lebanon if the STL indicts Hezbollah members, Sleiman said that no one has informed him of the indictment’s date or contents, that “war happens if we want war,” and that an issue of such magnitude must not be dealt with hastily.
In July, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that the STL is an Israeli project and will indict Hezbollah members. March 8 politicians have since demanded the abolition of the tribunal, and the Lebanese judiciary has reportedly relayed to the STL information which Hezbollah has presented and says implicates Israel in the Hariri murder.
Sleiman also described Hezbollah’s reception of former General Security chief Jamil as-Sayyed at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport as an “objectionable approach to an event but not a rehearsal for a coup,” adding that there is a need for a “return to the law and working within state institutions.”
On September 18, armed Hezbollah bodyguards escorted Sayyed from the airport after his arrival from Paris. Earlier that week, he had been summoned by the Lebanese judiciary for questioning over speeches in which he threatened Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri has no intention of resigning or changing the cabinet, Sleiman also said, adding that “nothing [about the current situation] justifies changing the government.” An extraordinary national dialogue session is possible, he said.
Sleiman also said that UNIFIL is not sufficiently deterring Israeli violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and is only holding Lebanon responsible for the implementation of the resolution, before pointing to the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Shebaa Farms and the northern part of Ghajar village.
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) - Information Branch ought to be expanded and “controlled, and it should have missions that do not conflict with [those of] other agencies,” he added.
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