Lebanon okays court to probe Hariri murder
Lebanese cabinet authorizes creation of international court investigating murder of former prime minister. Siniora praises decision he calls 'historic,' Hizbullah says government vote was not legal
The Lebanese government approved Monday the draft UN proposal to create an international criminal court to investigate the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The proposal was approved despite the recent withdrawal of six ministers from the government, of them three from AMAL, two from Hizbullah, and another pro-Syrian minister. All this despite the absence of Lebanese President Emil Lahoud who has doubted the legality of the government after the resignation of the six ministers.
At the end of the special meeting, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said that "we agreed unanimously the final draft, while rejecting the attempt to assassinate Lebanon and choke its efforts for a respectable life."
In a statement he said at the end of the meeting he called "historic," Siniora said that the government has lived up to its obligations and has fulfilled what it has written in the basic principals, to find those who killed Hariri and his escorts. Siniora called the decision as "a step on the way to reaching the truth."
"Here we are today on the road to revealing the truth and achieving justice through the court with an international character that will be formed to stop this series of terrorist and criminal acts.
The establishment of the court should be a unifying force for the Lebanese," Siniora told reporters after the meeting. "Our aim is to achieve justice and only justice, because without justice we cannot defend our democratic regime and our political freedom now and in the future."
Hizbullah: Gov't decision wrong
Siniora played down the absence of the six ministers who resigned. "We are convinced that those who were not able to come and join us in the decision were together with us in spirit and in the same position. In the past they emphasized again and again their commitment to the truth using the court," Siniora added.
Official sources say that The draft document now returns to the Security Council for endorsement, and will wait until a final version is completed.
Hizbullah was quick to question the legitimacy of the current government. In an interview given to the al-Jazeerah satelite network, Hizbullah delegate to the Lebanese parliament Husein al-Hajj Hassan said that the government's decision in this matter is wrong and may even be illegal.
It seems the despite the position of Hizbullah, the one who is giving Nasrallah's party a difficult time was his political ally, head of the Shiite AMAL faction and Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri. Although his ministers have resigned their posts in the government, Berri did not doubt the legality of the meeting.
Berri, who is visiting Teheran where is participating in the Islamic conference said in an interview to the local official news agency that the meeting held Monday was completely legal despite the resignation of the ministers.
"The government can raise these issues as long as it has a majority of at least two-thirds. Legally it can be done."
