No Deal on MoU Unless Reservations Were Retracted
A meeting of the tripartite ministerial committee set up by Cabinet to discuss a new draft on the Memorandum of Understanding did not take place on Tuesday as expected.
While no new date has been set, the daily An Nahar on Wednesday quoted a ministerial source as saying that the committee will soon meet to consider introducing amendment s for the MoU draft text.
The committee – made of Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, Labor Minister Mohammed Fneish and State Minister Khaled Qabbani, was scheduled to meet Tuesday.
The source said contacts were underway amid a "positive" climate to clarify positions and "eliminate reservations" previously expressed by Fneish.
The memorandum proposed by the Justice Ministry seeks to regulate relations between the Lebanese judiciary and the general prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Several March 8 Cabinet ministers have voiced reservations over the draft, while others criticized it.
Meanwhile, the daily Al Liwaa said Committee members were consulting with each other over the phone.
"Contacts are ongoing among us. The issue is not left behind," Qabbani told Al Liwaa.
"We are working in a positive spirit," he added.
Al Liwaa quoted well-informed sources as saying that things were not moving in a positive direction.
Al Akhbar newspaper, in turn, said holding a meeting before completion of a draft that includes all the observations would be "a waste of time."