Last update - 00:00 13/01/2007
Lebanon avoids taking sides in UN debate over Hariri probe
By The Associated Press
Lebanon avoided Friday taking sides in the UN Security Council debate over naming and shaming the 10 countries deemed to be retarding the probe into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but urged all governments to cooperate fully.
The Security Council failed to agree Thursday on a Russian proposal that it ask the chief investigator of Hariri's assassination to identify the 10countries whom he accuses of not cooperating fully with his probe.
The investigator, Serge Brammertz, criticized the countries in a Dec. 16 report to the council, but declined reporters' requests to name them.
On Friday, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar listed what it claimed were nine of the 10 countries. It did not reveal the source of its information, nor did it explain why it had only nine names. The paper said the countries were the United States, Israel, France, Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil.
Early reports from the commission implicated the Syrian and Lebanese
intelligence services in Hariri's assassination. Four pro-Syrian Lebanese
generals have been detained on charges of being involved in the murder.
Many Lebanese blame Syria for Hariri's death, but Damascus has always denied the charge.
When Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi addressed the media after a Cabinet meeting on Friday, he was asked about Russia's bid to have the countries named. Aridi declined to answer directly, but said: "Cooperation with the UN commission is required by all."
Hariri was killed by a massive truck bomb that was detonated as his motorcade was passing through central Beirut in February 2005. The blast killed 22 other people.
The Security Council mandated an independent commission to investigate
the killing as Lebanon did not have the resources for the task.
"While we do not interfere [in the commission's work], we, as a state, want to know the truth and we hope that all [countries] will cooperate with the UN investigation commission," Aridi said.
Legislator Saad Hariri also urged all governments to cooperate with the UN
probe into his father's murder. "We stress the need for all states to cooperate with the UN investigation commission," Hariri said in a statement issued by his office in Beirut.
In his report to the council, Brammertz said Syria, which was previously
faulted for non-cooperation, was now assisting his team in a "timely and
efficient" manner, but he said 10 other countries had failed to respond to 22 commission requests. "If this cooperation will not improve in the future, I will mention those countries to the secretary-general, but so far I have not any intention to mention the names of those countries," Brammertz told reporters last month.
Russia traditionally opposes the naming and shaming of countries, but Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, argues that since so much pressure has been brought to bear on Syria to cooperate, other countries should be held to similar standards. He has proposed writing a letter to Brammertz asking for more detail on the noncompliance, but other council members have declined to support him.
On Thursday, Churkin said that because of the opposition, the text of his
draft letter to Brammertz will be sent to council experts in the hope that they can come up with acceptable language.