Al Nahar newspaper reported that Speaker nabih Berri called PM Nagib Mikati Tuesday evening to inform him that Hezbollah has approved the transfer of Lebanon’s share for funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon , but the PM insisted on receiving the approval directly from Hezbollah .
Hassan Khalil , assistant Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah then visited Mikati midnight Tuesday and informed him personally of Hezbollah’s approval which was aimed at averting the collapse of the cabinet .
As a result of Hezbollah’s approval of funding the STL, Mikati decided to postpone Wednesday’s cabinet session which was intended to raise the issue of the funding.
Mikati was supposed to hold a press conference at Noon to announce the transfer of the funds but he delayed it by 90 minutes. According to An Nahar Mikati delayed the press conference because he wanted to make sure that the UN confirmed the receipt of the wire transfer before making the announcement
Mikati according to An Nahar asked Central Bank governor Riad Salameh to open an account for the High Commission for Relief and have the funds transferred through it on behalf of the Lebanese government . $ 32 million and 134 thousand U.S. dollars was wired as Lebanon’s share for funding STL.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon was created by the United Nations Security Council in 2007 , at the request of the Government of Lebanon to investigate the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
On January 12, 2011 Hezbollah and allies with the help of the Shiite minister that represented president Michel Suleiman in the cabinet overthrew the government of former PM Saad Hariri over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s imminent indictment.
STL issued the indictments and arrest warrants on June 30. Two of the suspects Mustafa Badreddine and Salim Ayyash are reportedly senior members of Hezbollah and played leading roles in the assassination while the other two Hezbollah members Hassan Aneissy, also known as Hassan Issa, and Assad Sabra played a supporting role in the execution of the assassination.
“No Lebanese government will be able to carry out any arrests whether in 30 days, 30 years or even 300 years.” Nasrallah said following the announcement of the indictments.
According to al Manar TV Nasrallah is expected to appear on TV on Thursday to comment on the party’s position with regards to the STL funding
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