U.N. Chief Presses Netherlands To Host Lebanon Tribunal
By Benny Avni 
July 24, 2007
New York Sun
Original source: http://www.nysun.com/article/59009

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban yesterday asked the Netherlands to agree to host an international tribunal to try suspects in Lebanon's political assassinations, but fears over mounting violence in Lebanon make a fierce debate in Amsterdam likely.
Established by the Security Council earlier this year, the tribunal of Lebanese and international jurists would try suspects in the assassination of a former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, and in related political killings in Lebanon. But according to several U.N. sources, Mr. Ban has found it increasingly difficult to find a country to host the tribunal. His letter yesterday to Prime Minister Balkenende of the Netherlands is just the latest attempt at finding a trial venue among European countries.
The United Nations's announcement of the Netherlands as the lead candidate for hosting the tribunal followed reports in the Lebanese press declaring that the country already had agreed to serve as the host. U.N. and Dutch officials yesterday denied such a deal had been struck.
In his latest report to the Security Council earlier this month, U. N. investigator Serge Brammertz of Belgium said the motive for the February 2005 Hariri assassination was political and involved the former prime minister's support for Security Council Resolution 1559, which called on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. Mr. Brammertz also noted a marked deterioration in the security situation in the country.
Beirut's pro-Syrian opposition has prevented a parliamentary vote on the international tribunal. The number of independence-minded Sunni, Druze, and Maronite politicians in Lebanon's Parliament has shrunk since several of them were assassinated.
Lebanon's political violence has not gone unnoticed by officials in European countries approached to host the tribunal. Yesterday, a U.N. spokeswoman, Marie Okabe, said Mr. Ban's letter invites the government of the Netherlands to consider hosting the tribunal. Mr. Ban stresses the fact that the Netherlands already hosts several courts and tribunals, she added.
The Hague is a large U.N. hub, hosting such venues as the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court — a status that Dutch government officials say they would like to maintain. Nevertheless, Amsterdam is far from unified on playing host to the Lebanon tribunal, and the internal politics of a country struggling with tensions over its growing Islamic minority may delay the decision, according to European sources.
This is only the beginning of the process, a Dutch diplomat told The New York Sun. Citing protocol, he spoke on condition of anonymity and said the Dutch government will take the request under consideration but declined to say whether Mr. Ban's plea would be received favorably or not.
It is progress, America's ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters after the U.N. spokeswoman's statement yesterday. He added that he would leave the management of what has to happen first, second, and third, to Mr. Ban.