Lebanon's embattled government said yesterday that it wanted an explanation from the United Nations of its decision to appoint a commission of inquiry into the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri and hit out at France over opposition calls for an "uprising".Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad said his government was poised to boycott the UN probe, a move likely to put Lebanon on a collision course with both the former mandatory power and the United States, which have demanded an independent investigation into the bombing, in which 14 other people also died. The decision to protest to the United Nations followed a meeting between Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud, Justice Minister Adnan Addoum and presidential adviser Georges Dib, a foreign ministry official said. Asked earlier if the government would work with the UN inquiry to be headed by senior Irish police officer Deputy Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald, the defence minister said: "I do not think so."
"This issue was proposed by the opposition and we did not agree on that," Mrad told state television, saying the government had not even been notified by the world body as to the commission's terms of reference. He took particular issue with Fitgerald's appointment, saying that Beirut should have been given a veto over the choice. "This issue is up to the council of ministers and chiefly the prime minister," he said. Mrad vowed that the security forces would clamp down on any illegal demonstrations following the opposition's call for a wave of sit-ins against his government. "We will not allow any security breaches," he said. More than 40 of Lebanon's 128 MPs called on the international community on Friday to back their peaceful "uprising for independence" and accused the government and its political masters in Damascus of having a hand in Hariri's assassination.
Prime Minister Omar Karameh struck back, accusing the opposition of "planning a coup d'etat" but adding that his government remained open to "dialogue". Information Minister Elie Firzli accused French President Jacques Chirac, who attended Hariri's private funeral here Wednesday, of having a direct hand in the opposition's campaign. "Chirac made himself a direct party to lead the battle on the Lebanese scene," Firzli charged. Mrad lashed out at a French government advisory warning nationals against all non-essential travel to Lebanon in a new blow to the fledgling recovery of its tourism industry. The Hizbollah warned the opposition not to go down a path that would only prompt counter demonstrations by Damascus's supporters in Lebanon.