Syria Rejects Ban”s Reply on Mehlis and Says Law is in its Favor
Syria”s permanent representative to the U.N., Bashar al-Jaafari, snapped back at Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon over his rejection of a request to interrogate former chief investigator Detlev Mehlis and his aide Gerhard Lehmann for allegedly trying to frame Damascus in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri”s killing.
"We weren”t officially notified of the secretary-general”s reply. But the law is in our favor and logic supports us," Jaafari told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Saturday.
"This is not within my domain," Ban told reporters on Thursday when asked to clarify Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem”s request to question Mehlis and Lehmann.
"We are saying that the international investigation commission is functioning under the secretary-general”s supervision and it has become a U.N. agency. As long as Ban heads the international organization, he is involved in the work and performance of any U.N. agency," Jaafari said.
He stressed that Syria has the right to hold accountable those who allegedly tried to frame it politically in the Hariri assassination case.