U.N. Official: No Deals will Be Allowed to Obstruct International Tribunal March
A senior official with the U.N. committee probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and related crimes warned Saturday that "no deals will be allowed to obstruct the march" of the international tribunal.
"The train to the court has been launched from its main station and will soon arrive at its last station," the official said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat. His remarks were published Saturday.
"No political or non-political barricades would stop it," he stressed.
"No deal, obstacles or surprises will be allowed to obstruct its march," warned the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"All that talk about the number of persons who will appear before the court is mere guesswork created by sources from here and there and it will not put pressure on our thinking and our work; and consequently not on the outcome," he added.
The official stressed that justice is the "basic element to achieve peace and stability in the region."
On the issue of the four detained generals in connection with the Hariri murder, the official said this was a Lebanese issue, adding, however, that "we expect this dossier to be referred to us once the international tribunal kicks off in The Hague in the next few months."