Assad’s Position On The Tribunal

To the Syrian president, the burden of proof is on the STL:

If the decision of the (Special) Tribunal (for Lebanon) is based on evidence, everyone will accept its conclusions, not only Syria but also Lebanon […] If there is a decision based on a simple suspicion or political interference, then at that moment nobody will take the tribunal’s conclusions seriously

Believe it or not but this is also the official position of March 14. Hezbollah on the other hand keeps discrediting the legitimacy of the institution itself as an Israeli-American body bent on destroying the ‘resistance’.

The positions on the Tribunal are more subtle in Lebanon than the simplistic division between March 14 and March 8. Take M.P. Jumblat for example. Until recently he was with March 14, but his position is closer to Hezbollah’s, while M.P. Aoun, a March 8 stalwart is closer to the other camp and Syria on the matter.