Baragwanath Says Farrell to Visit Beirut Soon, Vows Strong Efforts to End STL Mission in 3 Years

President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Sir Judge David Baragwanath has announced that Prosecutor Norman Farrell will visit Lebanon soon.

While Baragwanath refused to discuss the details of his talks with President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati, he said his visit to Beirut was aimed at informing them about the latest developments linked to the court.

The STL president also said in remarks published in Beirut dailies on Friday that he held talks with diplomats based in Beirut to encourage them to pay shares to the court’s budget.

Lebanon is responsible for meeting 49 percent of the STL's financing, while the remaining 51 percent is the responsibility of contributing countries.

“Twenty six countries have contributed to the funding but there are 193 member states in the U.N. and we want more of them to make contributions to the court’s budget,” Baragwanath said.

The court’s president said that he also visited Beirut to meet with every member of the STL’s office in Beirut. “We should help the workers and support them in any possible way.”

“I talked to them … to improve their conditions if necessary and help them confront the challenges or any problems they face,” he said.

Baragwanath stressed that the STL is exerting strong efforts not to cause any delay in the proceedings of the trials and the verdicts within a period of three years, the time of the renewal of the court’s mandate.

The U.N. Security Council extended the STL’s mandate for three years from March 1.

The tribunal was set up by the Council in 2007 and has announced that it will put four Hizbullah members on trial even though they have not yet been detained.

The four -- Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra -- have been charged for the February 14, 2005 car bombing in Beirut that killed ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and 22 others, including a suicide bomber.