Miqati Surprised by Bellemare's Requests after Draft Indictment Submittal
Premier-designate Najib Miqati said Thursday he had information suggesting that some parties were urging world powers to issue a U.N. Security Council resolution under Chapter 7, after four Lebanese ministers turned down requests from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon prosecutor to provide information and documents, Al-Manar TV reported.
Al-Manar quoted Miqati as saying that he was surprised by STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare's recent requests given that a draft indictment had been already submitted by Bellemare to STL Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen on January 17.
The period of investigations and requests should have ended with the draft indictment's submittal, Miqati noted.
The PM-designate told Al-Manar that he was not worried concerning the course of cabinet formation, admitting that "major challenges" were facing his mission.
"I'm dealing with them in a serious manner," Miqati added, stressing that he will not be dragged into any verbal clash.
He said that he was seeking a cabinet formula that would best serve Lebanon in confronting the challenges it is facing.
Quoting sources close to the STL, Lebanese English-language newspaper The Daily Star reported Tuesday that four caretaker ministers had turned down requests from the STL prosecutor to provide information and documents, in breach of the cooperation protocol signed with the U.N.
The requests made by Bellemare were sent last month from his office in Beirut to caretaker premier Saad Hariri, who passed them on to Ministers Ghazi Aridi, Jebran Bassil, Ziad Baroud and Charbel Nahhas on February 24, the newspaper said.
But the four ministers have not yet complied with the requests, the sources told The Daily Star.
The STL has requested a meeting with Lebanon's ambassador to The Hague, Zeidan Saghir, on March 7 to discuss the issue, they said.
According to the daily, Bellemare is mulling to take measures against the ministers who declined to cooperate with him, such as listing them by name as uncooperative.