Kataeb Will Take Part in All Presidential Election Sessions

The Kataeb Party stressed on Monday the need for all lawmakers to achieve the quorum of Wednesday's parliamentary session to elect a president.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “The party will take part in the second round of the elections and all other subsequent ones.”

“All parties should take a clear and honest decision to head to parliament and practice their constitutional duty in order to avert vacuum in the presidency,” it added.

Moreover, the Kataeb Party stated that the election of a new president “should be a product of parliamentary work, not understandings that are struck away from parliament.”

Commenting on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's summoning of al-Jadeed television and al-Akhbar newspaper's journalists on charges of “contempt and obstruction of justice,” it said: “There are no contradictions in the preservation of freedom of expression and protecting the tribunal.”

It called against criticizing the STL and instead dealing with it responsibly.

“The tribunal's system should be respected and it should be granted trust,” it demanded.

The Kataeb Party also urged against placing obstacles that will hinder the investigations and course of justice.

The STL announced on Thursday that it has summoned Karma Mohammed Tahsin al-Khayat from al-Jadeed, as well as the station’s parent company New TV S.A.L., and Ibrahim Mohammed al-Amin from al-Akhbar, as well as the newspaper’s parent company Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. to appear before it on three counts of Contempt and Obstruction of Justice.

In April 2013, a list of 167 names of so-called witnesses for the Hariri trial was published by a previously unknown group identified as "Journalists for the Truth".

The group said it wanted to "unveil the corruption" of the STL.

Both Al-Akhbar and Al-Jadeed published the list.

The STL, established at Lebanon's request, seeks to try five members of Hizbullah for the attack that killed former premier Rafik Hariri and 22 others on February 14, 2005, in Beirut.

Last week, several journalists rallied near the Ministry of Information in Beirut, to protest the STL's decision.

M.T.

Y.R.