BEIRUT: Lebanon will have to confront the Arab and international community if the new Cabinet’s policy statement ignores the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said, amid rumors that the indictment will be issued soon persisted. 

“If anyone decides to sideline the tribunal, Lebanon would have to confront the international and regional community,” Geagea said during a ceremony Monday night.

Geagea pointed out that the tribunal, which was set up to investigate the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, had been established by national consensus, when the Cabinet, which included Hezbollah MPs, voted for it unanimously.

“The tribunal was agreed upon in 2006 and it was on top of the agenda which everyone including Hezbollah agreed on," Geagea said, adding that all subsequent Cabinets had also embraced the tribunal.

The March 14 coalition and the international community, fearing that the new Cabinet will either disavow the tribunal or neglect to mention it in the new policy statement, have voiced their concern over the issue, urging Lebanon to uphold its international obligations.

In 2007, Lebanon ratified U.N. Security Council Resolution 1757 which established the tribunal and made Lebanon responsible for 51 percent of the expenses. The tribunal’s indictment, which will reportedly be issued in the next few days, is said to name Hezbollah members over the assassination.

The Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance, who represent the majority in Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s new Cabinet, has repeatedly questioned the credibility of the tribunal, describing it as an American-Israeli conspiracy targeting the resistance.

Geagea defended the tribunal against allegations that is politicized, saying: “There are over 30 judges working within the tribunal and any result is destined to be accurate, as these judges come from different countries.”

“If there were any negligence or loopholes within the tribunal we'd be the first ones to criticize it because we are the relatives of the martyrs,” Geagea said. 

In the weeks following the assassination of Hariri, who is the father of Lebanon’s previous prime minister and the head of the Future Movement Saad Hariri, multiple March 14 lawmakers were also assassinated. 

“This is a chance for those who committed crimes against great men in Lebanon to take responsibilities for their actions,” Geagea said. “So, why are we trying to stall it?”