Phalange: TIME Article Shows that Sides Harboring STL Suspects Remain Defiant of Justice

The Phalange Party noted on Monday that the TIME Magazine interview with one of the suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will not affect the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s functioning.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The interview demonstrated that the sides harboring the suspects are intent on defying international justice and targeting what is left of the credibility of the security and judicial forces, especially since the suspect is a Hizbullah member.”

The STL accused four Hizbullah members of being involved in Hariri’s assassination.

The Lebanese authorities have failed to apprehend them, while the party has repeatedly said that it will not cooperate with the tribunal, which it has deemed an American and Israeli product.

Addressing the security situation in Lebanon, the Phalange Party stated: “The latest act of defiance of the state is the ongoing assaults in the town of Lassa where Hizbullah is seeking to include land from the town to its closed security zones in the South, Bekaa, Mount Lebanon, and Beirut’s southern suburbs.”

“These areas are completely outside the state’s jurisdiction,” added the Phalange Party.

“The arrogance of the party has even led it to attack a clergyman,” it noted.

“All this is taking place as the state acts as an idle spectator refusing to set matters straight and grant people their rights, which has forced citizens to seek alternate methods to defend their freedom, property, and existence,” it stressed.

Property disputes erupted in Lassa a few weeks ago when Hizbullah members prevented a Maronite League team from surveying land owned by the Maronite Patriarchate in the predominantly Shiite town of Lassa in the Jbeil District.

They also came after members of the same party prevented an MTV crew from filming a report on the issue in the town.