U.N. approves Hariri assassination tribunal

POSTED: 5:22 p.m. EDT, May 30, 2007

Story Highlights• Tribunal will prosecute 2005 truck bombing that killed former Lebanese PM
• West sees move as wasy to boost Lebanese government's authority
• Lebanon has history of political assassinations that have gone unpunished
• Syria has been accused of playing role in murder; Syria has denied charge

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- In a challenge to Syria, the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday voted to set up a court to prosecute the murder two years ago of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

In pushing through the resolution, Western powers are gambling that the boost to the Lebanese government's authority and to the rule of law will outweigh any violent reaction in the region.

Britain's U.N. ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry, told reporters the vote would "send the right political signal" to Lebanon, a country with a long history of political assassinations, many of which have gone unpunished.

After months of arguments between deeply divided Lebanese politicians and talks between the Beirut government and the United Nations, 10 council members supported the Western-sponsored resolution to set up the court and five abstained.

There were no votes against.

The five countries that abstained -- Russia, China, Qatar, Indonesia and South Africa -- argued that the council was exceeding its authority and interfering in Lebanese affairs.

"It is not appropriate for the Security Council to impose such a tribunal on Lebanon," South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo told the council.

The move responds to a request from Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, but the country's parliament has not approved the plan because Speaker Nabih Berri, an opposition leader who disputes the Cabinet's legitimacy, has not convened the chamber.

Syria said the U.N. action violated Lebanese sovereignty and could plunge Lebanon into further instability.

A government statement carried by the official news agency said Syria stuck by its long-standing concerns about the court compromising Syria's own jurisdiction over any Syrians who could be indicted for Hariri's 2005 killing.

"Setting up the court under Chapter Seven violates the sovereignty of Lebanon and could cause the situation there to become worse," the statement said. "There has been no change in the Syrian position on the court."

Ties with Syria
Central to the dispute are Lebanon's ties with Syria, which pro-government Lebanese leaders accuse of killing Hariri and 22 others with a truck bomb in 2005.

Syria denied involvement but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year presence.

The outcry over the assassination forced Syria to withdraw troops from Lebanon.

Damascus denies involvement but has indicated it will not cooperate with the court. Washington's U.N. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, warned Syria on Tuesday it would face "increased pressure" if it did not do so.

Despite warnings by pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and others that setting up the court could trigger a fresh wave of violence, Western leaders say it is essential as a matter of principle to try Hariri's murderers.

Critics on the council say that invoking Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter to enforce the court's establishment, as the resolution does, is going too far.

Jones Parry rejected that view.

"Legally we can, politically we ought" to set up the court, he said.

But he described Lebanon as "a unique case", brought about by the inability of the Lebanese parliament to endorse the tribunal.

Western envoys amended the resolution last week to allow until June 10 before it goes into force to offer Lebanese factions a last chance to bury their differences over it.

The resolution puts into effect an agreement the United Nations reached with the Lebanese government last November.

Key details of the tribunal, including where it would be based, remain to be decided and diplomats expect a year's delay before it starts working.

Lebanese authorities are currently holding eight people over the Hariri killing. They are four pro-Syrian generals who headed Lebanese security departments at the time and four members of a small Syrian-backed Sunni Muslim group accused of having played a role in monitoring Hariri's movements.

But a continuing U.N. investigation has not yet recommended who should be indicted in the affair.

Hariri's son praises tribunal idea
Hariri's son hailed the U.N. resolution.

"This is a victory for oppressed Lebanon," Saad Hariri, also leader of the parliament's ruling majority, said in a televised address shortly after the Security Council passed the resolution.

"It is the moment of arriving at the gateway of justice," he said, choking with tears. Hariri said the move, opposed by Lebanon's pro-Syrian opposition leaders, was "salvation from the long criminal series of terrorism".

Supporters in mainly Sunni Muslim areas of Beirut went to the streets to celebrate the resolution as fireworks lit the night sky and candles illuminated the streets. Some supporters fired assualt rifles into the air.

A stun grenade exploded at about the same time in a Christian suburb of Beirut, causing no casualties or damage.