BEIRUT - A “road map” was drawn for Lebanon to finance its share of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a newspaper report said.
An agreement was reached to allow Lebanon to pay its share of the finances governing the STL, ministerial sources told Al-Hayatnewspaper in comments published Monday.
“The visit of STL President Judge Sir David Baragwanath was conducive, through his meetings with top Lebanese officials, to an agreement on a ‘road map’ allowing Lebanon to pay its share of the STL [funding],” the sources said.
“The agreement reached with Baragwanath entails that [Lebanon’s] share will be paid over three installments.”
The sources added that the financing will be sourced from the government budget reserve and that the procedure was launched by Caretaker Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi.
In turn, Safadi said in remarks published by An-Nahar newspaper that he was determined to address the issue of the financing of the STL.
He added that the transfer of funds should take place “during the current week.”
In October, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced that it had indicted Hassan Merhi for the assassination of former Premier Rafiq Hariri, raising the number of people charged for the massive 2005 Beirut car bombing to 5.
In June 2011 the UN-backed court indicted four Hezbollah members—Mustafa Badreddine, 52, Salim Ayyash, 49, Hussein Anaissi, 39, and Assad Sabra, 36—for Hariri’s murder.
The tribunal has set a January 2014 start date for the blockbuster trial.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/524670-financing-lebanons-share-of-the-stl-on-track
