Security Council, EU Urges Cabinet to Fund STL
United Nations Security Council members urged the Lebanese cabinet to implement its international commitments, especially the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, An Nahar newspaper on Friday.
The members advised “Lebanon to implement its commitment to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and pay its dues,” the daily said.
A diplomatic source told the daily that Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations Nawwaf Salam reiterated President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s “commitment to all international resolutions, including the STL according to ministerial decrees.”
EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule met on Thursday Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Miqati, urging them to “think about the consequences” of challenging the international community.
He said “Lebanon must provide a safe environment for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to carry out its mandate, and ensure the protection of its citizens as well as foreigners and refugees.”
Miqati and Suleiman have continuously voiced their commitment to the funding of the STL, which is set to try former-Premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins.
The PM received at the end of September a message from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon requesting Lebanon to pay its $33 million in dues.
However, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ruled out on Monday that his party will support the funding of the STL, stating that if the cabinet failed to reach consensus on the matter, then it should be submitted to a vote at the parliament.
The STL had issued arrest warrants against four Hizbullah members, accusing them of being involved in Hariri’s February 2005 murder.
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