Lebanon summons US Ambassador over comments against Hezbollah

The Beirut-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network reported that Hitti met with Dorothy Shea at 3:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Monday to inform her that, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, an ambassador must not interfere in the domestic affairs of another country, and that her speech must not seek to pit the Lebanese people against each other.

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between countries.

Government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, also told al-Mayadeen that “the Lebanese government has not made any apologies, and it respects the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of the media.”

On Saturday, Lebanese judge Mohamad Mazeh in the southern city of Tyre banned local and foreign media outlets from interviewing the US Ambassador for a year, after Shea told Saudi-owned al-Hadath television news network that Washington has “great concerns” over Hezbollah’s role in the government.

Mazeh said Shea's comments incited sectarian strife and threatened social peace.

The judge noted he acted after receiving a complaint from a citizen who considered the US ambassador’s comments “insulting to the Lebanese people.”

Mazeh wrote that the media, which interview Shea, “would be contributing intentionally or unintentionally to the blatant aggression on the rights of those who feel insulted from the interview.”

He underlined that violators would be penalized with a one-year suspension and asked the Information Ministry to disseminate the order.