False Witnesses Issue to Make Comeback

by Naharnet Newsdesk 12 July 2011, 09:16

Hizbullah ministers have informed several cabinet members that they were planning to propose a discussion on the controversial issue of false witnesses in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case during cabinet sessions.

Ministerial sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Tuesday that Ministers Mohammed Fneish and Hussein al-Hajj Hassan are planning to open up the subject during government sessions.

But they ruled out the discussion of the issue at the cabinet meeting at Baabda palace on Thursday because only President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati have the authority to approve the agenda of the session.

The issue wasn’t discussed during the meetings of the committee that was tasked with drafting the cabinet’s policy statement and one minister had said that the false witnesses topic is now from the past, the sources said.

Hizbullah’s insistence to revive the issue comes after Phalange MP Sami Gemayel asked about the reasons behind the party’s silence on the false witnesses case which was the main reason behind the toppling of former Premier Saad Hariri’s government in January.

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