Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


    October 26, 2011

Hariri Assassination Still Clouds Lebanese Politics

   Jeff Neumann | Beirut
   The buildings of Beirut's downtown are seen reflected on a portrait of
   the slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in Beirut,
   February 12, 2008. Photo: AP
   The buildings of Beirut's downtown are seen reflected on a portrait of
   the slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in Beirut. (file
   photo)

   Lebanon's new Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, is facing his toughest test
   yet in office. In a matter of weeks, Lebanon is obligated to pay its
   share of the budget for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), the
   international legal body tasked with prosecuting suspects implicated in
   the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others
   in a powerful truck bomb attack on Beirut's waterfront in February,
   2005. The STL this year indicted four men - all of whom are members of
   the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. While Mikati supports funding the
   STL, the majority of his cabinet does not.

   Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference
   at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, 25 Jan 2011.

AP

   Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati (file photo)

   Mikati, a self-made Sunni billionaire from northern Lebanon, was
   nominated for the premiership with explicit backing from Hezbollah and
   its March 8 Alliance in January, following the collapse of Lebanon's
   government in late 2009. Aside from being the dominant armed group in
   Lebanon, Hezbollah is also the country's strongest political force.
   The March 8 Alliance holds a majority in Mikati's 30-member cabinet
   and, in theory, could bring it down over an issue such as funding the
   STL. The group sees the STL as little more than a tool of Israel and
   the United States.
   Untouchables
   The[1] 2011 budget for the STL is $65.7 million, of which Lebanon is
   responsible for 49 percent according the rules set out by the tribunal.
   The remainder of the budget is paid for by volunteer member states. To
   date, 25 countries have contributed to the tribunal, but the only
   Middle Eastern country having done so is Kuwait.
   U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently sent a letter to Mikati
   informing him that Lebanon's portion of the STL's 2011 budget was
   coming due. According to STL spokesman Marten Youssef, 'Thirty days
   after receipt of that letter, the Lebanese government is supposed to
   pay. They haven't. And so that's where we're at right now.'
   There is little that the STL can do if Lebanon ultimately decides not
   to pay its share of the 2011 budget. Lebanon can, however, be referred
   to the United Nations Security Council. In theory, the Security Council
   can invoke Chapter 7 of the United Nations charter, which stipulates
   that the body should 'decide what measures shall be taken in accordance
   with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and
   security,' including sanctions or military force. However, this outcome
   is highly unlikely.

   Four members of Hezbollah were [2]indicted earlier this year on charges
   of committing a terrorist act, conspiracy and other crimes related to
   the attack on Hariri's convoy. The accused - Salim Ayyash, Mustafa
   Badreddine, Hassan Aneissy and Assad Sabra - have not appeared in
   public since then. Ayyash, believed to the main planner of the attack,
   is a dual U.S.-Lebanese citizen. Badreddine is the brother-in-law of
   Hezbollah's most celebrated martyr, Imad Mughniyeh - an infamous figure
   who was widely believed to have planned the bombing of the U.S. Marine
   Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983, along with a host of other
   high-profile international terrorist attacks.

   Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah (file photo)

AP

   Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah (file photo)

   After the indictment against the four men was unsealed last July,
   Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said in televised remarks
   that the accused would not be handed over to the tribunal 'even in 300
   years.' And with that in mind, the STL is eyeing other options.
   'One of the unique features of the tribunal is that we can try the
   accused in their absence. This is a common procedure in Lebanese
   criminal law. But in order for us to move into in absentia proceedings,
   the trial chamber judges have to be convinced that enough efforts have
   been made [to apprehend the accused] and that efforts laid out in the
   tribunals rules have been exhausted,' says STL spokesman Marten
   Youssef. He adds, 'Once both sides make their oral arguments, then we
   will determine whether or not to move into in absentia proceedings.'
   Oral arguments by the prosecution and defense are due to begin on
   November 11 in the Netherlands - where the tribunal is headquartered
   for security reasons - in a development that Youssef calls 'a
   significant milestone.'
   It appears almost certain that the trial will proceed in absentia. Few
   Lebanese expect the Internal Security Forces to even attempt to
   apprehend the four suspects and hand them over to the STL.
   More than money
   The STL is a controversial topic in Lebanon, even among some of its
   supporters.
   Formed in 2005, the STL's first prosecutor was a German, Detlev Mehlis.
   Later that same year he issued the Mehlis Report, which implicated
   "Syrian security officials" and their allies in the Lebanese security
   forces in the Hariri assassination. Several Lebanese generals were
   imprisoned for a number of years and later released. The following
   year, Mehlis left the STL and was replaced for two years by Belgian
   Serge Brammertz, who was followed by Canadian Daniel Bellemare - the
   current chief prosecutor of the STL.
   In a televised interview with Hezbollah's Al Manar television this
   week, Nasrallah appeared confident and showed little urgency regarding
   the deadline for funding the STL, saying, 'The issue of the tribunal's
   funding can be decided in the Cabinet when the time is appropriate.'
   Nasrallah added that Hezbollah still does not support funding the STL
   and, in a reference to Mikati, the billionaire, said "anyone who wants
   to finance the tribunal, let him do it from his own pocket.'
   But regardless of the rhetoric, the deadlines, and the veiled threats
   between political rivals, Mikati's government doesn't seem to be in
   imminent danger of collapse. At least not yet.
   'I think at this point, no one has any interest in bringing the Mikati
   government down - either internally or externally," says Lebanese
   political analyst Kamel Wazne. "As far as Western powers, they are very
   concerned about the stability of Lebanon, and I think keeping this
   government intact is in the best interest of keeping Lebanon
   stabilized."
   With neighboring Syria on the cusp of armed revolt, keeping Lebanon
   stable has for many players become even more of a priority. Although
   none of his dwindling options are ideal, Mikati does have some.
   'I think he'll go to the end,' Wazne says, suggesting that Mikati will
   weather the current political storm. 'He has an election in less than
   two years, and has to satisfy his constituents. He can say, 'I tried.
   I'm the prime minister, but I don't have the power to persuade everyone
   in the government. I did my share, but this does not mean that the
   issue of funding [the STL] has to destroy the country.''
   Follow our Middle East reports on [3]Twitter
   and discuss them on our [4]Facebook page.