An Agreement over Funding the Tribunal

So, finally, an agreement was reached:

Lebanon will pay its share of funds for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon through the government-run Higher Relief Committee, a senior government source told The Daily Star Wednesday.

To me this sounds like a bizarre way out for the part of government that rejects the tribunal on principal. I mean, why is paying a zionist imperialist body through a government entity better than paying a zionist imperialist body directly?

In truth, the threat of resigning by Mr. Miqati forced everyone’s hands. Hezbollah and its allies want to keep this government alive by all means, not just to stand by Assad (as March 14 sees it), but also to maintain control and governance in a very volatile period.

But why the Higher Relief Council? Here’s Lebanon for you: The HRC is the cash cow body of the Lebanese government that is traditionally and unofficially controlled by the Sunnis. So in the Lebanese convoluted manner, this a way of saying that the Sunnis are paying for this out of their own pockets…Sort of.