U.N. report: Syria involved in Hariri death
U.N. investigation report into assassination of former Lebanese prime minister says there exists 'converging evidence' of both Syrian and Lebanese involvement in killing, crime had been prepared over course of several months
There is "converging evidence" of both Syrian and Lebanese involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a U.N. investigation reported on Thursday.
The probe into the February 14 killing of Hariri led by veteran German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis has established "that many leads point directly toward Syrian security officials as being involved with the assassination," according to the investigation report submitted to the U.N. Security Council.
Because of this, it is now incumbent on Syria "to clarify a considerable part of the unresolved questions" facing investigators, the report said.
Meanwhile, political sources in Jerusalem refused to address the United Nations’ report.
“The Syrians want to turn this into an Israeli affair in order to serve their own objectives,” one source said. “This is a matter for the international community and the U.N., and they should be the ones responding
The Mehlis commission said its findings to date indicated that the truck bombing that killed Hariri and 20 others in the streets of Beirut was carried out by a group "with an extensive organization and considerable resources and capabilities."
"The crime had been prepared over the course of several months," it said.
The report was handed over to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday morning, and Annan transmitted the report to the 15-nation Security Council and the Lebanese government on Thursday evening.
Mehlis Detlev presents copy of report to Kofi Annan (Photo: Reuters)
Tensions have been high in Lebanon in the build up to the much-anticipated report, with rumors spreading that if the report directly implicates Syria in the murder a civil strife my hit the streets of Beirut.
The assassination of Hariri in February plunged the country into its worst-ever political crisis since 1990, when the civil war there ended.
Lebanese soldiers have been positioned in the streets of Beirut for fear that the report’s findings might set off political and social uproars. The Lebanese Interior Ministry has raised the level of alert to an all-time high.
President Bashar Assad has refuted Syria’s involvement in the assassination, telling the German daily Die Zeit, “We are 100 percent innocent.”
Pressure on Syria has been mounting since Mehlis launched the investigation which has so far led to the arrest of four senior pro-Syrian Lebanese security officials for their alleged involvement in the assassination.
'Syria’s border with Iraq will be opened'
Signs of fret have been emanating from the Syrian capital over the last two weeks with a series of interviews given to the foreign press by top Syrian officials, including Assad himself, who rushed to rule out Syrian involvement in Hariri’s killing.
In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro, Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Friday that “the U.S. is preparing a regime change in Syria.”
“The Americans and the French have a plan to intensify pressure on Syria. Mehlis’ report is nothing but a means to achieve this goal. If we are really innocent of the Hariri killing accusation, as we do believe, would Mehlis be able to say so? Will he have the courage to clear Syria of this charge?” Moallem said.
Moallem went as far as threatening that if the United States were to strike Syrian targets, “Syria’s border with Iraq will be opened”.
Lebanon prefers suspects be tried in International court
Lebanese officials have expressed their preference that the murderers of Hariri be tried in an international court raising concerns that the country’s dodged judicial system is unfit to try the suspects.
Hariri’s son Saad, who led an anti-Syrian coalition to victory in the first general election to be held in Lebanon following Syria’s withdrawal in April, reiterated the Hariri family’s demands for an international tribunal. “We will certainly ask for an international tribunal,” Hariri said Thursday following a meeting with President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora told the French daily Le Monde that although he fully trust Lebanese judges, the legal system is undergoing an overhaul and it might not be ready on time to deal with an issue of that caliber.
The Beirut bourse jumped by 3.09 percent on Thursday, marking the highest rise in the last four months.
Report: Four top Syrian officials will be implicated
Speculations surrounding the U.N. probe have been flowing in the Arab world, the latest of which was a report in the Saudi daily al-Watan which named four senior Syrian officials mentioned in Mehlis’ report as prime suspects, including Assad’s brother-in-law and head of military intelligence, Major-General Assef Shawkat, and the former intelligence chief in Lebanon Rustom Ghazaleh.
The pan-Arab television channel al-Arabia reported that the report will also point an accusatory finger toward Ghazi Kenaan, the former interior minister who was reported to having committed suicide, and Bhajat Suleiman, the head of internal security who was dismissed two month ago.
U.S. preparing for day after
Washington has already voiced it support for holding an international tribunal to try Hariri’s murderers. In a meeting with Annan, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed the U.N. Secretary General to formulate proposals that will allow the international body to help Lebanon bring the perpetrators to justice.
Annan has appointed two international judges to explore the legal possibilities available for the U.N. to try the suspects, al-Watan reported.
According to al-Watan, Washington has Syrian guarantees that Damascus will fully cooperate with an international tribunal and will even be willing to hand over any Syrian official implicated, including Assef Shawkat himself.
A United Arab Emirates newspaper reported Thursday that the U.S. and France have prepared two proposals for resolutions against Syria to be submitted to the Security Council in tomorrows session.
Meanwhile, a London-based website estimated that Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a long-time ally of Syria, will be under intense public pressure to resign following the publication of the report. However, Lahoud is expected to reject the demand, claiming the report does not implicate him in the Hariri assassination.
Associated Press and Diana Bahur-Nir contributed to the report
