Suleiman Stresses Separation between Lebanon’s Commitment to STL and its Work

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Wednesday the need to draw a separation line between Lebanon’s commitment to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and its work.

In remarks to al-Liwaa daily, Suleiman said: “If there has been any flaw or mistake as happened with the case of the arrest of the four generals, then Lebanon should work on fixing that flaw.”

He was referring to the arrest of four Lebanese generals who were detained without charge for four years in connection with the Feb. 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri.

Asked about the funding of the STL, Suleiman told the newspaper that until now he doesn’t have a final plan on solving the crisis. But he has high hopes that the efforts exerted to resolve the issue would have positive ends.

So far, the Lebanese government hasn’t discussed the tribunal’s funding. But Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his March 8 allies have rejected to pay Lebanon’s share which amounts to around $33 million.

He reiterated the need to pay that share and hoped the Lebanese would cooperate to honor Lebanon’s international obligations.

The president expressed concern about the security situation in Lebanon for its close link to the developments in Syria. But said he had no fears of a deterioration in the situation because not a single party in Lebanon has an interest in that.

Asked about the infiltrations of Syrian troops into Lebanese territories in the north and east, Suleiman told al-Liwaa that he has held phone conversations with Syrian President Bashar Assad about the issue after which authorities in Damascus apologized for the “unintentional violations.”

Syria vowed to stop such infiltrations out of respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, Suleiman said. “The Syrians have planted landmines along the border to prevent infiltrations and smuggling.”

On the Arab Spring, the president told al-Liwaa that the winds of change blowing on the region will continue until they achieve their objective in establishing democracy and giving freedom to the people.

He called for “more democracy and economic and social reforms” as a response to the winds of change.