STL Funding Tends to Become ‘Mother-of-All Battles’

Prime Minister Najib Miqati agreed with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Wednesday.

“The STL will be funded under any circumstance,” sources close to Jumblat told the daily.

The source said: “Jumblat and Miqati discussed several scenarios including a decision to bypass any vote by the cabinet, where the funding would be valid by a decree signed by the President, PM and Finance and Justice Ministers.”

Asked if Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi will carry out the mentioned solution since he is affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement led by MP Michel Aoun, the source didn’t rule out his commitment.

However, Aoun announced on Tuesday that he refuses to fund the tribunal even if Hizbullah agreed on it since “it’s unconstitutional.”

“I had informed United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that its adoption under chapter seven of the U.N. charter is a violation of Lebanon’s constitution,” Aoun said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting.

Informed sources told al-Liwaa that the issue of paying the STL dues will be the “mother of all battles.”

They said that Tawhid movement leader Wiam Wahhab’s statements on Tuesday constitute a direct regional message to Miqati.

Wahhab said: “If Prime Minister Najib Miqati insists on funding the STL then he should do it from his own pocket.”

Hizbullah MP Mohammad Raad slammed the tribunal on Tuesday describing it as “politicized.”

The sources said that the unity of the cabinet became threatened by the STL issue.

Miqati confirmed on Sunday that the government will pay its $32 million share of funds to the STL.