A Lebanese newspaper reported Wednesday that Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri had decided to give up on the International Tribunal investigating the assassination of his father "for the sake of Lebanon." According to Al-Diyar newspaper, Al-Hariri said yesterday in front of his visitors: "It is for the sake of the country. I decided to abandon the International Tribunal." The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is reportedly set to indict senior members of Hizbullah.
The Lebanese leader said his government would notify the United Nations it wishes to withdraw the Lebanese judges and abolish its work protocol", which was approved by Hariri. The newspaper quoted Hariri as saying this: "I have sacrificed a lot and I can not do more than that."
In an interview with Newsweek, Hariri said that possible "violence" over an indictment to be issued by a U.N.-backed court "would be a huge gift to those who want a divided Lebanon." "When we are united, we are much more capable of facing the challenges that surround us," Hariri added.
