UN mulls resolution to expand Hariri probe

By Nick Wadhams
December 14, 2005
The Boston Globe
Original Source: http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/12/14/un_mulls_resolution_to_expand_hariri_probe/

UNITED NATIONS --France, at the request of Lebanon, has proposed broadening a probe into the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister to include other politically motivated killings in that country over the past year.
The French resolution, co-sponsored by Britain and the United States, was circulated to the U.N. Security Council late Tuesday.
It came a day after Detlev Mehlis, the head the U.N. probe into the assassination of Rafik Hariri, submitted a report saying new evidence had only solidified his conviction that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence played a role in the killing. Despite pressure on Syria to cooperate, Mehlis said the probe was still moving so slowly that if it did not speed up, his team would need two more years to complete their work.
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Feyssal Mekdad again insisted Syria was cooperating fully and has given to the committee whatever it wants.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanon made its second request for an international tribunal to try suspects in the Feb. 14 assassination of Hariri. The country also asked for an expanded mandate for the U.N. investigation to cover politically motivated killings in Lebanon since October 2004.
But the circulation of the French proposal deflected Lebanon's request for a tribunal. Instead, the Security Council would ask U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to consult with Lebanon on the nature and scope of the needed assistance and report back.
On Monday, the very day the Mehlis report came out, a leading anti-Syrian journalist and lawmaker, Gibran Tueni, was killed by a car bomb outside Beirut. He was the 11th person killed in a string of bombings since Hariri's death.
The killings have caused turmoil in Lebanon which had been under Syrian political and military control for decades. Hariri's death sparked street protests that prompted the Syrian military to withdraw its thousands of troops from Lebanon in April.
The French resolution would again demand Syria cooperate with the probe, whose mandate would be extended by another six months until June 15. It could be extended again in the future at the request of the commission or of Lebanon.
The draft did not mention sanctions. In October, the council passed a resolution that threatened further action -- raising the possibility of sanctions -- unless Syria cooperates.
A leading proponent had appeared to be the United States, whose ambassador John Bolton insisted Syria was obstructing the probe.
The government of Syria responds unfortunately only to pressure, at least that's our experience to date, so we are considering what additional pressure we will bring to bear, Bolton said.
In comments to reporters later on, Mekdad shot back: Ambassador Bolton has always been wrong. Whatever he said was wrong.
Some members of the 15-nation Security Council said they were encouraged that Syria had allowed five senior officials to be investigated by Mehlis' team at U.N. offices in Vienna.
But Mehlis' latest report said new evidence strengthened his belief that the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services had a hand in Hariri's assassination. It said there were 19 suspects so far, including six high-ranking Syrian officials.
In particular, he cited new information from an unidentified witness that pointed to the recruitment of special agents by the Lebanese and Syrian intelligence services. http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-Based_Image_Resource/dingbat_story_end_icon.gif \* MERGEFORMATINET