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Qaouq: Bellemare’s Requests Consolidate Divisions Among Lebanese

Hizbullah official in the south Sheikh Nabil Qaouq has said that Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s requests for data and information on the Lebanese consolidate divisions in the country.

Qaouq said the objectives of Bellemare and the U.S. won’t be achieved after a change in the parliamentary majority that is now led by Hizbullah.

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Geagea Urges Wide Participation in March 13 Rally: We Introduced Concept of Resistance

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea lashed out at his critics and said the March 14 forces were the first to introduce the concept of resistance to Lebanon.

“To those who claim we are against the choice of resistance, I say: We originally introduced the concept of resistance to Lebanon,” Geagea told LF officials in Keserouan-Ftouh.

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March 14 Leaders to Visit King Abdullah

A March 14 delegation is expected to visit Riyadh soon to meet with Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri there and congratulate King Abdullah on his safe return home.

Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel, former Premier Fouad Saniora and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea are among the delegation members, An Nahar daily said Saturday.

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Syrian Embassy Denies Salah al-Hajj Kidnapped Syrian Citizen in Beirut

The Syrian embassy has denied a report that Lieutenant Salah al-Hajj, son of former Internal Security Forces chief Ali al-Hajj, had kidnapped Syrian citizen Jassem Merhi al-Jassem in Lebanon.

The denial was published in An Nahar daily on Saturday which a day earlier said that the Syrian opposition in Paris accused Lt. Hajj of kidnapping al-Jassem and detaining him in an unidentified location.

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March 14: Raad’s Statement Restricts Miqati’s Freedom of Movement

The March 14 coalition snapped back at Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad saying his statement “restricts the freedom of movement of Premier-designate” Najib Miqati.

“Do the March 8 forces want the Miqati government to be really formed or they prefer to keep the status quo?” a March 14 official asked.

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Officials: No Need for U.N. Action Under Chapter 7

Officials who have met with U.N. diplomats told An Nahar daily in remarks published Saturday that the Security Council is not mulling any action against Lebanon under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.

Two senior March 14 coalition officials also said there was no need to resort to Chapter 7 because the provisions of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would eventually be implemented without the use of force.

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STL Annual Report: Investigations Didn't End with Indictment Filing

The President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Judge Antonio Cassese, has published the second STL Annual Report, "which outlines the successes of the past year as well as the challenges that the Tribunal has faced," STL's press office announced Friday.

"This has been a momentous year for the STL", said Cassese. "The submission of the first indictment by the Prosecutor (Daniel Bellemare) to the Pre-Trial Judge (Daniel Fransen) was highly significant and it marked the start of the judicial phase of the STL's life."

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Williams: Government Formation Shouldn’t Overshadow Security Issues

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams expressed hope on Friday that the government formation process “would not overshadow the issues that affect the daily lives of Lebanese people, especially in the field of security.”

“I expressed my belief as the U.N. Special Coordinator that any new government should try to meet the aspirations of all the Lebanese people,” Williams said following talks with caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud.

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Hizbullah Urges Non-Cooperation with STL, Says Bellemare’s Requests Contradict with Protocol

Loyalty to the Resistance bloc leader MP Mohammed Raad urged Lebanese leaders on Friday not to cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, saying Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s requests contradict with the cooperation protocol signed between Lebanon and the tribunal.

During a press conference he held at the parliament building, the Hizbullah lawmaker said Bellemare’s requests from four caretaker ministers for information and documents came seven years after ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination and amid turmoil in the Arab world.

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British Ambassador Hints that Hizbullah’s Arms Scared Jumblat

British Ambassador Frances Guy has said that although the government change was constitutional, it partly came out of fear from the use of Hizbullah’s weapons against its foes.

In an interview with As Safir daily published Friday, Guy confirmed that Britain would deal with the new government and expects it to respect Security Council resolutions on Lebanon mainly 1701 and 1757.

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