U.N. Proposes Mixed Hariri Tribunal

By Edith M. Lederer 
March 21, 2006
The Associated Press
Original Source: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060322/D8GGBPJ8K.html


UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A mixed tribunal of Lebanese and international jurists should be established to prosecute those charged in the assassination of the country's former prime minister, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday. 

In his report, Annan said it was clear that a mixed tribunal was needed to ensure that justice is done in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others on Feb. 14, 2005, an event that shook the nation and led to the departure of Syrian forces from Lebanon. 

He said the attack on Hariri and similar bombings have contributed to creating a climate of insecurity and intimidation which seriously affects the functioning of the country's political institutions as well as economic and social life. 

A U.N. investigating team has spent nearly 10 months looking for Hariri's killers. Last week, the new chief investigator, Serge Brammertz, told the U.N. Security Council that Syria's agreement to cooperate after months of refusals and delays could lead to progress in the probe. His predecessor had implicated top Syrian and Lebanese officials in the explosion in Beirut that killed Hariri. 

The report was a response to a Security Council resolution adopted on Dec. 15 which asked the secretary-general to help the Lebanese government identify what kind of international assistance would be needed to try anyone charged in the terrorist attack that killed Hariri. 

Four top Lebanese generals - key figures in Syria's domination of Lebanon - have been arrested and charged with involvement in Hariri's death; top Syrian officials have been implicated, but not charged. 

Annan said it appears that the establishment of a mixed tribunal would best balance the need for Lebanese and international involvement in the work of the tribunal. 

He said Lebanese authorities had emphasized their desire that Lebanese law be applied in the case, but Annan suggested that locating the court within Lebanon itself was likely to be too dangerous. 

At this stage, it is clear that there is a belief, based on security concerns, among the Lebanese authorities that the tribunal might not be able to operate effectively in Lebanon, the secretary-general said. 

Annan said that if the common understanding between the U.N. and Lebanese authorities is acceptable to the Security Council, it should adopt a resolution asked him to initiate negotiations with the Lebanese government aimed at establishing a mixed tribunal.