❊ The Next Great “False Witnesses” Fight

The “false witnesses” issue has moved from “whether” to “when”.

In the beginning, it was about whether or not “false witnesses” should be hunted down and interrogated. It was an issue that Hezbollah and its allies placed great importance on in its quest to rectify/sabotage (depending where you stand) the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Now, after Minister Najjar’s report on the matter was finally issued, the debate will shift: It will become about whether the prosecution of the “false witnesses” will take place as soon as possible (like Hezbollah wants), or after the STL’s indictment, as March 14 wants.

M.P. Ammar Houri of the Future Movement wants us to know that postponement is a very reasonable request:

“because [targeting false witnesses now] will prevent any witness who knows anything from testifying out of fear that his testimony is published or his identity is revealed before those who committed the crime.”

But Hezbollah will have none of this. The party wants to avoid the indictment altogether or declare it null and void. This is why it will consider this to be a play for time by March 14 (which I believe it is), and will be sure to throw its weight around to reject this logic outright.

The problem with playing for time as a tactic, is that the only way to counter it is strong, direct pressure from the other party. Expect some bumpy days ahead..

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Note: Posts with titles starting with an ❊ (asterisk) are articles. I used this system to separate long posts from quick links and comments.