Najib Miqati and officials involved in striking a consensual deal on the international tribunal clause in the policy statement have reached a standstill, media reports said Wednesday.Miqati's sources confirmed to al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
newspaper that major progress was made in the drafting of the policy statement except for the tribunal clause. "Contacts are underway to agree on the final formula."
Well-informed sources said that Hizbullah is still insisting on not including any reference to the tribunal in the policy statement while the government's centrist forces -- Miqati, President Michel Suleiman and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid
WallyJumblat
... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
-- reject the idea.
The three officials want a formula that doesn't widen the gap among Leb's different factions and doesn't put Leb in confrontation with the international community and its resolutions, the sources told al-Mustaqbal.
They believe that Hizbullah would eventually agree to include a clause on the tribunal in the ministerial statement because not doing so would lead to the collapse of the cabinet.
The differences between Miqati and Jumblat on one side and Hizbullah on the other are already threatening the existence of the cabinet, a ministerial source told al-Liwaa newspaper.
The source said that the consultations held by the 12-member committee drafting the policy statement have been divided between the stance of the premier and the PSP chief who want a reference to the tribunal and the position of Hizbullah that is either calling for the adoption of a clause that says the court is biased and politicized or ignoring the entire clause.
The committee is scheduled to hold another meeting on Wednesday.