Al-Mustaqbal Warns of International Relations Crisis in Case of Noncooperation with STL
The Lebanese cabinet should deal responsibly with the indictment issued in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder case or else the country will witness a crisis in its ties with the international community, al-Mustaqbal bloc MPs warned on Saturday.
“In short, we urge the government to act responsibly towards a tribunal decision that received repeated Lebanese consensus at the national dialogue and in previous policy statements,” MP Nohad al-Mashnouq told An Nahar newspaper.
His remarks came a day after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon released the names of four Hizbullah members who are wanted on suspicion of murder in the Feb. 2005 truck bomb that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
All were indicted one month ago, but their identities were withheld until the Lebanese authorities were informed. Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare persuaded the court that publication of the names and photographs of the suspects would increase the prospects for their arrest.
Another al-Mustaqbal MP, Hadi Hbeish, said that the tribunal has other details on how the crime took place and other assassinations in the aftermath of Hariri’s murder.
Former Minister Mohammed Shatah, who is the advisor of al-Mustaqbal movement chief and ex-Premier Saad Hariri, also told Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) that the government has a “difficult and historic mission not just in the issue of assassinations but also in (guaranteeing) the country’s cohesion.”
“If the cabinet rejected to cooperate with the tribunal, then this is an important evidence on the nature of authority in Lebanon,” Shatah said in reference to the Hizbullah-led government.
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