March 5, 2009 - Naharnet - MoU with U.N. Tribunal Likely to Stir Up New Dispute

Local media said heated discussion is expected during a Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday over the MoU, as well as the establishment of office of the tribunal's attorney general in Beirut, a move supposed to take place soon. Meanwhile, the standoff over the state budget, between Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, dragged on with no signs of a breakthrough. Opposition Cabinet ministers argued that a clause in the draft text of the MoU would "expose Lebanon and make every Lebanese subjected to scrutiny until further notice, depending on the mood of the attorney general and his assistants, without any control." One Opposition minister told the daily An Nahar that discussion at Thursday's Cabinet meeting would focus on the third clause of the MoU, and whether it is the same as that of the basic agreement. He said the word "local authorities" under the MOU draft "could include all people, starting with the head of state all the way to the last politician." The third clause states that Lebanese authorities guarantee that the office of the tribunals' Attorney General is free from any interference during investigation in Lebanon and that it is provided with the necessary assistance to help its mission succeed.