Hezbollah blasts U.N.-backed tribunal

A tribunal investigating the 2005 slaying of a former Lebanese prime minister is a relic of the past, the deputy leader of Hezbollah said. The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon last week handed down indictments against four members of Hezbollah. The four were accused of playing a role in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Naim Qassem, deputy leader of Hezbollah, was quoted by The Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon as saying the STL was irrelevant. "The resistance (Hezbollah), which has left a mark on history and the present, will not be hindered by the Israeli-American project, the so-called tribunal, which is now behind us, and there is no going back," he said. The STL indictments against Hezbollah were expected. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has contended he has evidence to suggest Israel played a role in the 2005 slaying, however. The tribunal in a statement stressed its independence in response to Nasrallah's criticism but said it welcomed any evidence from the Shiite movement "that would assist the tribunal in its ongoing pursuit of justice." Hezbollah holds two Cabinet ministers in the Lebanese government as part of the ruling March 8 coalition led by the Free Patriotic Movement.