STL Financing Paves Way to Aoun’s Demands, Berri: Lebanon into New Phase

Zeinab Essa

It had become well known that the Lebanese politicians are excellent in dancing on the edge of the abysses.

Circling angles and making up the miracles from the womb of crises are major
characteristics of the political game.

Mikati Threatened. Aoun boycotted. Bettors on toppling the government welcomed and expressed joy.

Things seemed complicated in the last hours.

However, the maestro Nabih Berri did it again.

He picked up the stick from his pocket and with his famous wit proposed the magical solution.

Mikati returned back from resignation. Aoun was relieved by the given promises and the remaining of "March 14" suffered their continuous disappointment.

Council of Ministers is not going to finance the unconstitutional Special Tribunal for Lebanon and most importantly the Lebanese government remained alive.

This comes as attention is directed today to Hizbullah's position from internal and foreign developments, which will be announced Thursday by the Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

PM's Office to Fund STL

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced Tuesday that he transferred
Lebanon's share of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon funding on Wednesday morning.

"My insistence on funding the STL emanates from my keenness on protecting Lebanon, the people, the army and the resistance," Mikati stressed.
 
Noting that funding is not a victory for one team over the other," Mikati considered his move as a "national decision aimed at safeguarding Lebanon."

Mikati also called for the speedy resumption of the National Dialogue at Baabda palace to find common ground among the Lebanese and "build bridges of mutual trust."

He urged the ministerial ministers "to consider today a new start for the government work and consolidate the performance of their ministries."
 
As Mikati did not explain the funding mechanism, "as-Safir" Lebanese daily informed that the 32 million$ sent to STL were drawn from the prime minister's office's budget i.e. from the Higher Relief Commission which doesn't need governmental approval.

"The funding was made from an account put at the PM's disposal of Central Bank. Most of the funds were from donations made locally and from abroad," "al-Akhbar" daily reported.

Mean while, "as-Safir" clarified that Mikati received hundreds of local and international calls.

"He spent the entire afternoon and evening answering his calls and tweeting to his followers. PM had received by Wednesday night around 1,423 text messages that he had not read yet," the paper added.

Mikati's sources expressed to "ad-Diyar" their satisfaction with the way the
 funding was done and hoped that "the next stage would witness an activation of government work, the appointment of civil servants in vacated posts and the approval of the wage boost."

"Mikati was able to do what former PM's Saad Harri did not do," "as-Safir" commented adding that "he also enhanced his political and popular presence in the Sunni arena, and dedicated dual leadership with Hariri."

"Mikati also managed to open the doors of the international community which was dealing with him with caution, as Western capitals didn't delay expressing appreciation to the Lebanese step," the paper viewed.

The United Kingdom also released a statement welcoming the step.
 
"We welcome Mikati's announcement his government will honor its international commitments to pay its share," it said

Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, similarly praised the move in a statement: "I welcome this positive step, in line with previous commitments by the Lebanese authorities that Lebanon would continue to respect its international obligations."

Berri: Funding Mechanism a Lebanese Victory

For his part, House Speaker Nabih Berri hailed the mechanism of "STL funding as a triumph for Lebanon."

In an interview with "as-Safir" daily Thursday, Berri confirmed "the importance of the funding mechanism was that it ensured victory for the country and prevented any Lebanese party from losing."

"A new phase has begun in Lebanon; it will be centered on engaging in dialogue and tackling the people's needs," he added.

Aoun Fixed on Position from STL

At the level of "Change and Reform" Bloc Water and Energy Gebran Bassil told "an-Nahar" daily that "stability comes through development, production projects and social stability."

"Lebanon is to be protected from corrupted people and those stealing its wealth and this happens only when our demands to promote government's work are met."

Stressing that STL funding doesn't mean that the government's issue has been resolved even if the conditions for our return to participate in sessions have been provided," Bassil said that "the ministerial issue is still deadlocked."
 
"Al-Akhbar" quoted Aoun's sources asserting that the "Change and Reform bloc's" stance on STL is still the same.
 
"The bloc still opposes STL financing and still calls for giving precedence to the promotion of government's action," the sources emphasized pointing out that "the bloc has received positive indications from PM Mikati with regard to the latter demand."
 
Official sources informed the paper that "discussions starting Thursday are to address the means to reconcile General Aoun's demands with those of President Michel Suleiman with regard to appointments in positions traditionally earmarked for Christian candidates, such as the presidency of the Higher Judicial Council.

In parallel, sources informed "an-Nahar" that "the upcoming Council of Ministers' session will be held Wednesday prior to President Suleiman's trip to Armenia."

"The session is unlikely to witness a renewed governmental revival by adding the files required by the Change and Reform bloc," sources stressed.

Source: Lebanese news papers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org