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Hariri tribunal gets underway in The Hague
 A landmark international tribunal to try the suspected killers of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri got under way on Sunday with pledges to provide justice to the victims of terrorism.The chief prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (SPL), Daniel Bellemare, said the new tribunal constituted the world's first anti-terrorist court. Bellemare was speaking at a special ceremony to inaugurate the tribunal, set up four years after Hariri's assassination in Beirut in 2005. "By the very nature of its mandate, the SPL is the first international anti-terrorist tribunal," he told reporters. He said the court was set up not to seek revenge, but "a justice that ensures everybody is treated with dignity and respect". Under the terms of the tribunal, Bellemare has 60 days to apply to the Lebanese authorities to have four generals held over the killing to be brought to The Hague to face trial. The four include the former head of the presidential guard. Three others, civilians suspected of withholding information and misleading the ongoing probe, were freed on bail by Lebanon on Wednesday. The Canadian prosecutor gave no indication of a date when the tribunal would hold its first trial. "Indictments will be filed when I am satisfied I have enough evidence," he said. He emphasised the tribunal's independence, asserting that its workings "must and will be above politics". The tribunal, located in the suburb of Leidschendam, was created by a 2007 UN Security Council resolution and will apply Lebanese law. It has an initial, renewable, three-year mandate. There was no indication of a date for its first trial. The identities of its 11 judges, four of them Lebanese, are being kept secret. The opening ceremony, attended by UN officials and diplomats, was held at a former gymnasium at the headquarters of the Dutch intelligence service, where the court will sit. The tribunal's registrar, Robin Vincent, told the opening ceremony, "We're not here for the perpetrators of crimes, but for the victims of crimes." Lebanon's ambassador to the Netherlands, Zeidan Al-Saghir, said the court was a step towards the Lebanese people's belief "that they can reconstruct and rebuild what has been destroyed by war". "What Lebanon is asking you is to serve justice. Justice is our request," he said. Welcome: The United States welcomed the opening of the Special Tribunal, saying it was "a clear signal that Lebanon's sovereignty is non-negotiable". "We hope it will help deter further violence and end a sad era of impunity. Too many Lebanese families have never seen justice for the murder of their loved ones," said State Department spokesman Robert A Wood. Bellemare has hitherto led the international investigation into a series of attacks on Lebanese political and media personalities, notably Hariri's assassination in a car bombing in February 2005 that also killed 22 other people. The attack on Hariri on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops after a 29-year presence. In its early stages, the UN probe into the murder implicated top officials close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Damascus has consistently denied any involvement. A lawyer for one of the generals held in connection with the crime, Akram Azuri, said last week the tribunal held no fear for the suspects. "They have a clear conscience, they have no problem with the tribunal. They are impatient for it to get underway," he said. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-02 |
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