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U.N. Extends Hariri Investigation in Lebanon
The United Nations...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... on Wednesday extended special tribunal investigating the 2005 liquidation of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The tribunal faces strong opposition from the Hezbullies party in Leb, but in announcing the three-year extension of the inquiry, U.N. leader  the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... said he was determined to "send a message that impunity will not be tolerated." The work of the Special Tribunal for Leb has now been extended for three years from March 1, UN front man Martin Nesirky said in a statement. The tribunal was set up by the U.N. Security Council in 2007 and has announced that it will put four Hezbullies members on trial even though they have not yet been jugged. The four -- Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Anaissi and Assad Sabra -- have been charged for the February 14, 2005 car booming in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others, including a jacket wallah. Warrants have been issued for the four, but authorities in Leb, where the government is dominated by the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbullies, have failed to arrest them. The United Nations is preparing to announce a replacement for the tribunal's chief prosecutor, Daniel Bellamare, who will leave at the end of the month. But Ban visited the court in Leb last month in one sign of support. And the announcement of the mandate extension included a new signal of support from the UN leader. "The secretary general reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to the efforts of the Special Tribunal for Leb to uncover the truth regarding the terrorist attack" that killed Hariri "so as to bring those responsible to justice and send a message that impunity will not be tolerated," said the U.N. statement. Posted by: trailing wife 2012-02-23 |
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