U.N. asks to meet Assad in Hariri case
Commission probing killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister asks to meet Syrian president, foreign minister; investigators will also try to meet 'as soon as possible' with former Vice President Khaddam, who accused Assad of threatening Hariri months before his assassination
"The commission has already sent a request to interview Syrian President Assad and Foreign Minister Shara, among others," the spokeswoman told Reuters.
U.N. investigators will also try to meet former Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam as soon as possible, the spokeswoman said.
There was no comment from Syrian authorities.
Khaddam, now living in Paris after resigning in June, said in a television interview aired on Friday that Assad had threatened Hariri months before his February 14 assassination in Beirut.
"Hariri was subjected to many threats from Syria. Dangerous things were said. Once he was summoned to Damascus…was spoken to in extremely harsh words by President Bashar Assad," Khaddam said in the interview.
During the interview, he quoted the Syrian president as telling Hariri months before he was killed, "You want to bring a (new) president in Lebanon. ... I will not allow that. I will crush whoever attempts to overturn our decision."
After the warning from Assad, Hariri left with "high blood pressure and his nose bleeding," Khaddam said.
"What Mr. Khaddam said corroborates information the commission has received and said in two reports," said the spokeswoman, who asked not to be named.
On Saturday, the Syrian house of parliament witnessed a stormy session with lawmakers lashing out at Khaddam.
Some staunch Baathist parliamentarians called for putting Khaddam on trial for betrayal.
“Abdul-Halim Khaddam lied and betrayed his country,” Faisal Kaltoum, a lawmaker and member of the ruling Baath’s central committee, told al-Jazeera.
Kaltoum said criminals have no right to use the media to express personal opinions.
“Adbul-Halim Khaddam is a cornerstone of corruption in Syria. He does not respect his country, he has no place in this country and he deserves to be rejected by his people,” he said.
Syrian official to Ynet: Israel gains from Khaddam's remarks
In a rare interview with an Israeli media outlet, a senior Syrian official told Ynet that Khaddam's harsh remarks were part of a planned campaign aimed at pressuring and smearing Syria.
The anti-Syria campaign "serves the Israeli government," the official charged.
"Khaddam wanted to succeed Assad Sr. (Basher's father) after he died. He's motivated only by vengeance," the Syrian source said, adding that in one of the urgent meetings following Hafez Assad's death, Khaddam stunned senior Ba'ath party members by announcing he saw himself as a leading candidate to assume the presidency.
A U.N. interim report in October said Shara had given the commission "false information" by describing a meeting between Assad and Hariri as friendly, contrary to several Lebanese witnesses who said the president had threatened Hariri.
The inquiry has already implicated senior Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies in the killing that sparked mass anti-Syrian protests in Beirut, forcing Damascus to bow to world pressure and withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April.
Syria has strongly denied any role in the crime. A U.N. Security Council resolution in October threatened Damascus with unspecified action if it fails to cooperate with the investigation.
News agencies contributed to the report
