March 14 Links Delay in Policy Statement with STL Indictment but Majority Denies
The March 14-led opposition said Monday that this week would be decisive in terms of the majority’s effort to draft the cabinet policy statement amid reports that the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination would be issued soon.
Opposition sources told An Nahar daily that differences between the majority’s different parties are not expected to last long because the pro-government forces will be compelled to draft the policy statement before the indictment’s release.
But members of the committee drafting the ministerial statement told As Safir newspaper that even if the indictment was issued, such a move would not reflect negatively on its mission. “On the contrary, it would facilitate its task in completing the clause of the international tribunal.”
The majority’s different parties are bickering on the clause. PM Najib Miqati wants Lebanon to remain committed to international resolutions, while Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement are calling for shying away from commitment to the tribunal.
High-ranking majority sources told As Safir that the 12-member committee should speed up the drafting of the policy statement to confront major developments, including the release of the indictment.
They expressed fears that media reports that the indictment would be issued soon, are only aimed at disrupting the work of the committee.
Other sources confirmed to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that the delay in the drafting of the policy statement were for local reasons only, shrugging off a link between the delay and the release of the indictment.
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