Ban informs Siniora preparations under way for Hariri tribunal
UN chief Ban Ki-Moon informed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora during a phone conversation Saturday that preparations for the international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were under way.
Ban also told Siniora that during the last few days, a UN administrative committee has inspected a potential site for the tribunal in the Netherlands.
An-Nahar newspaper quoted well-informed sources as saying on Sunday that there were widespread expectations that the next two months would see an announcement of the composition of the tribunal.
Justice Minister Charles Rizk renewed his support for the international tribunal and said he expected positive developments soon.
Rizk said following a meeting with US Charge d”Affaires Michele Sison on Friday that the clearest indication of the tribunal”s progress was the general recognition of the trial as a fait accompli by all sides in Lebanon. He also insisted that the court was not a political tool against any particular regime.
Sison in turn said that the rule of law and judicial administration were crucial to the development of democracy and governance in any society.
“I congratulate Minister Rizk and the legitimate government in Lebanon for setting up such cooperation and productive coordination over the next few years,” Sison added.
In separate developments, Damascus replied to Ban”s recent report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 by asking the Security Council to inquire into the “almost daily” Israeli “violations of the international resolution.” Syria called for appropriate punishment of such defiance of the will of the international community.
In February Ban accused Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of having threatened “open war” on Israel in the sixth report on Resolution 1701, which covers the period from October 2007 until the present time. He said the “threats” went against “the spirit and intentions of Resolution 1701, which aimed at achieving a lasting cease-fire.”
Nasrallah said during a speech after the assassination of top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh that if Israel wanted “open war,” the resistance was ready.
In a letter from Syria”s permanent representative to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, Damascus said that the Security Council had not once held Israel accountable for “Lebanese complaints of violation,” despite calls from countries that are active members in the council.”
“On the other hand, [Ban”s] report was rife with tendentious Israeli allegations of weapon smuggling from Syria, despite the fact that the delegated commission confirmed the absence of any such activity in recent months,” Jaafari”s letter said.