20/07/2010 The Special Tribunal for Lebanon doesn't seem to witness its best moments these days…
The tribunal, which turned to be an Israeli project adopted by the Israeli media through all its aspects, is suffering as more resignations are hitting it alongside the start of the countdown for the "historic" verdict.
In this context, well-informed sources told Al-Manar on Tuesday that the STL's chief of public affairs, Canadian Peter Foster, has resigned from his post last week. His resignation is the ninth resignation since the establishment of the tribunal's system.
Yet, the STL is still heading towards politicization as Israeli media is expecting a "grave political crisis" in Lebanon following the accusation of some Hezbollah members of standing behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
On Tuesday, Lebanese daily As-Safir said that Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare told US officials that the Lebanese army will not arrest any Hezbollah member if they were named in his findings on the assassination of ex-Premier Rafiq Hariri. According to the daily, the Lebanese military leaderships have hinted to Bellemare that they rejected to arrest any member of the Resistance group.
The STL prosecutor was in Washington earlier this month to ask officials there for US finance for the court amid fears that the Lebanese government will not pay its share to cover 49 percent of the tribunal's expenses.
As-Safir quoted Bellemare as saying that the announcement of his findings would include two rounds. They will start in September and last till end of 2010. The first round will involve 3-5 names from Hezbollah while the second will include the naming of around 20 party members, according to the report.
However, the Hezbollah leadership will not be blamed for the killing, As-Safir said, adding that his findings do not include names of Syrians.
20/07/2010 The head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc denied on Tuesday statements reported by As-Safir in which he alleged that an indictment in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would be followed by an Israeli war on Lebanon.
Speaking to reporters following his bloc's weekly meeting, Aoun wondered what would happen if the rules of the political game were changed. "What I told Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah was a theory that I hope I am wrong about," he added.
Aoun, meanwhile, noted that the resignation of several employees and judges from the STL is a sign of a flaw in its work.
The Free Patriotic Movement leader said that the meeting also tackled the traffic crisis in Lebanon, stating that a solution for it lies in administrative and economic decentralization and developing carpooling.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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