Hizbullah Puts Miqati at Loggerheads with International Community
An announcement by Hizbullah that it rejects the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will likely put Premier Najib Miqati at loggerheads with the international community after he made several pledges that Lebanon would fund the STL.
The international tribunal is set to try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins.
Miqati should now choose between upholding his pledges or resigning, ministerial sources told Beirut dailies published Friday.
They said the prime minister instructed cabinet ministers loyal to him not to discuss the issue of the funding in the media after he promised U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and Security Council member states during his visit to New York last month that the Lebanese government will pay its $32 million share.
The new tumult came after al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah told his visitors that the STL will not be funded. But at the same time he called for protecting the government and maintaining its unity.
This stance is not subject to any bargaining, the newspaper said.
The Shiite party totally rejects the funding, which would be seen as recognition of the court if it was carried out, sources close to Hizbullah said.
Government unity is not more important than the confrontation with the court, they added despite Nasrallah’s alleged call to safeguard the cabinet.
But Miqati held onto his stance on Thursday, telling the National Audio-Visual Media Council that paying Lebanon’s share to the tribunal will serve the country and Hizbullah.
The court will continue to operate whether Lebanon paid its share or not, he said.
“If we paid, we will spare Lebanon harm because there are many who harbor ill-will against Lebanon and the resistance,” the head of the council, Abdul Hadi Mahfouz, quoted the prime minister as saying.
Under U.N. Security Council resolution 1757, Lebanon is obliged to cover 49 percent of the STL’s running costs.
Conflicts over the court triggered a political crisis in January that brought down the government of Saad Hariri, who had been prime minister since 2009.
over 12 years
The STL exists... If the Hezbollah government does not fund the tribunal, another doner will step in and fund it, and then when Hezbollah collapses, they will take their funding contribution from Hezbollah's and Bassil's assets...
over 12 years
@canaanite
it is not the funding itself that is important, nothing will stop the STL.
rather, thanks to this government and its actions we will be considered as a failed country as a result of this action, due to the fact a terrorist group (hizbushaitan) is cotrolling the country.
do not forget the STL resolution is under chapter 7, which allows foreign intervention.
over 12 years
geha.. hopefully Lebanon can find a way to fund the STL herself.
The future is bright for Lebanon. Assad will fall and the mounting pressure on Hezbollah will be to great to bear, they will eventually hand in their arms... Aoun's days are numbered.. He is getting old and his brain tumor can explode any minute now. And his movement is a selfish one, a movement based only on his image, so once Aoun is gone, so too are the "Aounists"...
Just.. a.. matter.. of.. time.....
over 12 years
Where's jabalhabel..? I mean jabalamel... I changed my avatar just for him
over 12 years
@canaanite
I have no doubt for the outcome as stated by you, but was kind of hoping these a-----es would avoid us this kind of destruction.
over 12 years
by the way probably habal kamel is already running on his way to iran :)
over 12 years
hezb are shitting in their pants;..
over 12 years
the filthy zionist information war department is online 0-24, while normal people have jobs, life and hobbies....
but the more you write the more useless you are.
over 12 years
@jabal.... so I guess by your definition you have no job, no life and no hobby...oops you do have a hobby and it is to repeat yourself over and over again... "The zionist propaganda machine... Hiz is the winner...We hate all who do not agree with us...blablabla.. and to end How glorious!!!" seriously dude, you should call yourself jabalbilaamel!
over 12 years
habal, silly as usual :)
over 12 years
to a zionist information war department truth is silly, of course when their job is spreading lies propaganda and sectarian hate
over 12 years
jabalamel... right back at you..
over 12 years
dakhilo jabal amel! he lives in a james bond world! seriously :)
over 12 years
@jabalamel...
I only exist because you do.
over 12 years
Habal Amal ... The iranian and Syrian information war department sends it's greetings to u and says that u r doing a great job blaming everyone of being Zionist but you...
over 12 years
Hizballah knows and nasrallah knows and all the idiots that follow know that the STL will go forward no matter what they do. If it takes another 10 years to stick them behind bars then so be it. If indicted then that's it..the Interpol will be looking for them. They might not find them now but these issues do not fade with time and they will be taken one day. The Iranian regime like it brother the syrian regime will fall one day and hopefully sooner than later. Once this happens no one will want to harbor any murderers. Time is on the STL's side and no vice versa.
over 12 years
Like you people are serious when you call hezbolah names and stuff? i've been readong the comments on naharnet for the last couple of months since the new gov was in place, this propaganda and diabolization shows two things. March 14 has lots the battle big time, and the war ain't that better. The level of political intellect in lebanon is as low as countries as zimbabwe, rwanda, and others. If we are that rich a country that we can pay those millions for the justice of one man, that stole that same countries with his syrian freinds, the same guyz that killed him (mafia killings, not terrorist crime ;) ) then let'sshow the world our startups and our big industrial giants, we are rich people. And i you haven't learned the yugoslavia tribunal lesson, the lesson is the following. When you bring the american to deal with you neighbor, your neighbor will end up winning, everytime, milosevic is dead, however the serbian nationalist movements are as strong as ever, as are europe's salfis.....
over 12 years
العملاء يتنزهون والمنافقون يحاربون الفساد. قوانيننا تُختذل، دستورنا يُحتقر، جيشنا يُغتال وارضنا تُصادر. حزب السلاح يحكم، حزب السلاح يحاكم وحزب السلاح المتهم...
"ويل لامة تحسب المستبد بطلا، وترى الفاتح المذل رحيما"
- جبران -
over 12 years
Hezboshaitan the friend of the Zionist and Syrian regime, helping both to accomplish their evil wars to split Lebanon in half, where is that resistance against the Syrian killing Lebanese, your resistance is againsLebanese only that all what you really are triple spy agent and terrorist organization for your own pocket
over 12 years
@najoum
"If we are that rich a country that we can pay those millions for the justice of one man"
it is not only for one man... many innocent people were killed too!!
that doesn t count? a poor woman sleeping and her house fell on her becauseof a bomb, is nothing for you? a student visiting his family killed is nothing for you? and all other bystanders killed for nothing
let aside journalists who were only doing their jobs! so no journalist has the right to criticize the syrian regime unless being killed?
justice seems nothing for you, no wonder...
this tribunal is for all that, not only one man....
unless the price of a lebanese is worth peanuts for you, doesn t surprise me if you support the hezb, they also think that lebanon is worth nothing but to do their business and obey their master iran!
so you think in a country people can kill others just because they are against your ideas?
the responsibles should be trialed and sent to jail where they belong!
over 12 years
@ jabal habal, I guess someone had a bad lunch and vomited this disgusting puddle of je ne sais quoi that is YOU….stay right there dear, I am coming over with a bucket 90 % Dettol and 10 % water to mop you up. What a sorry F’up you are. A real sorry excuse for a human being that belongs in the sewer.
no more play.
the hour is serious and will ignite the country seriously this time round.
it suits hizbushaitan to have a resigned government at this stage which will allow it to run away from the social demands, like the salary increases and so forth, and at the same time continue handling the country.
but to their surprise, this is not going to work, and things will explode dramatically from inside and outside.