Hariri: March 14 Will Not Participate in Government that Cancels STL

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri assured that "the March 14 alliance will not participate in a cabinet that cancels the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)."
"March 14 parties have realized that it is in Lebanon's and the Lebanese's interest to move into a "real national opposition," which responds to the requirements of the democratic system and protects the country from violating the constitution and the Taif Accord," he stated.
In an interview with Al Mustakbal newspaper, Hariri pointed out that the March 14 deputies gave clear and complete reasons to the public opinion on their decision to abstain from participating in the government.
Caretaker PM also added that the March 14 forces' reasons to not participate in the government are objective, adding that they are related to March 14 forces' questions to Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati about the STL and non-state weapons. He noted that responses to these questions are foggy as the answers constitute manipulating and inventing terms about achieving justice and concerning the path of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. "The same manner is adopted when responding to the issue of using arms in the constitutional, political and national life in our country," he further explained.
Hariri added "They simply want March 14 forces to engage in a government that would cancel the Special Tribunal from the Ministerial Statement and ask a majority of the Lebanese people to become follow a foreign axis that we earlier describes as not linked to Lebanon or Arabism."
Hariri underscored "March 14 alliance earlier won the elections in 2005 and then again in 2009, during which they (March 8) hampered the formation of governments and then paralyzed the constitutional institutions by arms force.
"The Lebanese know all these facts, and it will be their right to wager on the coming elections as it is the only means of saving the democratic regime from the internal use of weapons and from the successive campaigns to wind on the constitution and the regulations.
March 14 alliance MPs met at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut on Sunday evening and issued a statement afterward announcing that they reject participation in Mikati's government.