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Foreign Minister Westerwelle calls for support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
The Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon yesterday submitted an indictment for the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to the Pre-Trial Judge.
Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle issued the following statement today (18 January):
“If the country is to find long-term stability, it is essential that the independent Special Tribunal for Lebanon uncovers the truth about the murder of Rafik Hariri.
No matter how the trial progresses, all political parties in Lebanon are called upon to support the Tribunal’s work and to refrain from exploiting it for their own political ends. Only in this way will the interests of the people of Lebanon be served.
Germany will continue to provide staff and financial support for the Tribunal.”
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon took up its work in The Hague on 1 March 2009. It is financed through voluntary contributions from UN member states (51%) and Lebanon (49%). Germany increased its financial support for the Tribunal to 1.5 million euro in 2011. In addition, the German Government has assigned two investigators to assist the Office of the Prosecutor.