A UN report implicating high Syrian and Lebanese officials in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri sent shockwaves in Middle East political circles. Syria denounced the report as âpolitically biasedâ while the United States sought a UN follow-up. The document put Syria on a collision course with the UN Security Council, where the United States, Britain and France have been laying the groundwork for crippling economic sanctions against the regime of President Bashar Assad.While the UN findings did not directly implicate Bashar, the report quoted a witness as saying that Assef Shawkat, Basharâs brother-in-law and the Syrian military intelligence chief, forced a man to tape a claim of responsibility for Haririâs killing 15 days before it occurred. Syria said the report was shocking and its findings were contrary to the expectations that the investigation would be balanced and based on clear and tangible evidence. âSyria is going to set up a high-ranking committee comprising political and legal experts to study the report and finalize an official reply to be sent to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the matter,â Elias Murad, editor-in-chief of Al-Baath, said.
Syrian satellite TV quoted Information Minister Mahdi Dakhlallah as saying that âthe report is 100 percent politicized as it is based on fabrications and accounts of some witnesses known for being enemies of our country.â