March 14: Hizbullah's attempt to thwart tribunal will fail

BEIRUT: March 14 officials said Hizbullahs decision to bring down Prime Minister Saad Hariris Cabinet aimed at abolishing the U.N.-backed tribunal but added that such an attempt would fail as the court falls under binding international resolutions outside the Lebanese states jurisdiction.

Politicians from the Hariri-led coalition also warned against attempts to sideline the caretaker prime minister when it comes to the formation of a new government, as they condemned the withdrawal of March 8 loyal ministers as a violation of the 2008 Doha Accord.

In sharper tone, Tripoli M.P. Mohammad Kabbara said the collapse of the Cabinet was a new political May 7 after the March 8 coalition renounced its commitment to refrain from overthrowing the Cabinet in line with the Doha Accord.

The Doha accord, which led to the formation of a new Cabinet that granted March 8 veto power, ended bloody clashes that erupted on May 7, 2008 between pro-government and opposition gunmen after the government of then-Prime Minister Fouad Siniora decided to dismantle Hizbullahs telecommunication network.

Kabbara accused the opposition camp of seeking to assume power unilaterally to establish its own security state, in a bid to protect its illegitimate weapons used to threaten the Lebanese and force them to surrender to the partys will.

He added that the March 8 plan involved reversing the results of the 2009 parliamentary elections, which eventually resulted in the government headed by Hariri.

We say to them: Their coup will have no political effectiveness; instead it will bring more problems down on the Lebanese, Kabbara said, adding that there was no alternative to Hariri as the next prime minister.

Kabbaras colleague, Minyeh M.P. Ahmad Fatfat, said the tribunal was not subject to negotiations since it fell outside the prerogatives of the Lebanese state and was part of Lebanons commitment to international legitimacy.

While doubt lingers over whether the March 14 coalition main! tained a parliamentary majority to re-nominate Hariri as head of government after Druze leader Walid Jumblatts realignment closer to Hizbullah and its allies, Fatfat argued that Hariri still commanded a majority in the legislature.

But Minister of State Michel Pharaon was less optimistic, saying Lebanon plunged into a crisis as parties maintain doubt over Jumblatts position.

There are parties seeking to put Lebanon in confrontation with the international community, Pharaon said in reference to Hizbullahs attempt to seize control of the Cabinet to halt Lebanons cooperation with the tribunal.

Pharaon argued that the other camp had strayed because the S.T.L. is not just a reality, and a matter of justice it became part of the National Dialogue sessions, the ministerial policy statement, and a case of adhering to international resolutions.

There are those who are trying to remove Lebanon from the international community, to put it in a situation of confrontation with this community, he said, describing the coming political battle as being a long-term one.

The Beirut M.P. said the latest developments did not represent a political dispute, but a crisis in the full sense of the word, due to the impasse over cooperating with the S.T.L.

Addressing security concerns, caretaker Minister of State Jean Hogassapian said the March 14 coalition had made a decisive commitment to refrain from taking the confrontation to the street, irrespective of the other groups reaction.

We will not confront them but they will be in confrontation with security institutions, he said.

The outgoing minister of state and Beirut M.P. questioned whether the rival camp had a workable alternative to a government of national unity.

Where are they taking the country? he asked about the March 8 coalition.

Hogassapian also indicated that there was no alternative to Hariri as the next prime minister.

Just as Speaker Nabih Berri enjoys a large amount of support among Shiites, ! which sa w him re-elected as speaker, the same goes for Saad Hariri, who enjoys the same amount of support among Sunnis, he said.

As for negative security repercussions in the wake of the latest crisis, Hogassapian noted that Syria had an interest in stability in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the Maronite patriarch was quoted by his visitors as underscoring the importance that the Cabinet collapse remain in its constitutional framework, and not reach the streets.

Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir also underlined the importance that the security situation remains stable and that security forces assume the responsibility of preserving civil peace.

The patriarch highlighted the importance of avoiding provocative political rhetoric amid regional developments that indicate great dangers.

Batroun M.P. Antoine Zahra said he expected the government crisis to last more than seven months since there is no possibility to name other than Hariri for the post of prime minister, in reference to the vaccuum that followed the end of term of former President Emile Lahoud in 2007.

Simply, the nomination of Hariri is subject to Lebanons political dynamics, and its confessional structure remains the same, so there is no premier but Saad Hariri, Zahra said.

The Lebanese Forces official said the failure of the Syrian-Saudi initiative to reach a compromise was due to Iran and Syria.

Saudi Arabia never once asked Hariri to abandon the Special Tribunal, he said.

For his part, Western Bekaa M.P. Ziad Jarrah said Wednesdays move by the opposition meant that things are now open to all possibilities.

Jarrah said that while some March 8 figures have promised that they would not resort to the street to press forward with their objectives, it was too early to tell if they would hold to this stance.

The point is the implementation [of this promise], as past experience has shown, he said. The Daily Star

!