Berri Seeks Withdrawing STL from Cabinet Agenda on November 30

Speaker Nabih Berri is seeking consensus on the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon through contacts with President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati in coordination with the March 8 leadership, As Safir newspaper reported on Friday.

The report said that Berri’s ongoing contacts with Suleiman and Miqati is to convince them to withdraw the issue of the STL from the cabinet discussions, for the time being.

He is seeking information over the necessity of paying Lebanon’s dues at this stage, knowing that the matter is critical as it may politically disturb the cabinet and have repercussions on the political scene amid the developments in the region.

However, the newspaper said that Miqati refused to withdraw the issue from the scheduled session on November 30.

For his part, Suleiman informed Berri that he also opposes withdrawing the issue from the agenda.

“Personally, I am with the funding of the Tribunal,” Suleiman said.

The international community has continuously hinted that it would impose sanction on Lebanon if the cabinet failed to approve the funding of the tribunal.

Lebanon is responsible for meeting 49 percent of the costs of the STL, around $33 million, which has charged four Hizbullah members in the February 14, 2005 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others.