Syria suggested Friday it may not cooperate with a planned international tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri because Damascus was not consulted on the plan, according to a letter circulated at the U.N. Besides, they haven't killed all the problem witnesses yet.
An ongoing U.N. investigation into the February 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others has said the killing's complexity suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in the assassination.
Clever boys, the UN. They'll have to be to find a way to not step on any toes with this one.
Syria, which has denied involvement, said in a letter circulated Friday at U.N. headquarters that the tribunal should not be arranged until after the investigation is finished.
Which should happen in no more than a decade or ten.
It announced that hasty adoption of the court's statute "will firmly establish our belief that Syria has no connection with this tribunal."
Whatever. Maybe it will make sense later.
"In the event that the statute of the tribunal is adopted, unacceptable transgressions that undermine the sovereignty of
Only concerned about his loyal subjects, I'm sure.
The Syrian government continues to cooperate in the investigation, the letter added.
As long as it doesn't involve anything substantial, anyway.
The document, addressed to Secretary-General Kofi Annan who is out of here in about a month!, was dated Tuesday, when the Security Council authorized Annan to ratify an agreement by the U.N. and the Lebanese government on creation of the tribunal.
I question the timing.
The court would sit outside Lebanon, and a majority of judges as well as the prosecutor would be from other nations.
Where will Bashar sit?
The Lebanese government must now make the final decision on establishment of the court.
Government? What government? Wouldn't they have to come out of hiding to do something?
On Nov. 13, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's Council of Ministers approved the tribunal plan but pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud challenged the decision.
Fox. Henhouse. Hen. Egg. Some assembly but no instructions required.
Saniora has called for a Cabinet session on Saturday to approve the proposed court.
Don't forget to bring your hanky for when they announce the decision.
The Syrian mission to the United Nations said no officials were available for comment Friday afternoon.
They're all out surfing. Beat it.
On Wednesday, the Security Council approved a request from Lebanon for U.N. investigators already probing Hariri's assassination to assist the government's investigation of the latest killing.
Since they already know half of the story.
The council acted just hours after Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a
Better to offer "technical assistance than actual "help".
The first U.N. chief investigator, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the complexity of Hariri's killing suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in Hariri's assassination.
That makes him next on Assad's "To Do" list.
In one report, Mehlis implicated Brig. Gen. Assaf Shawkat, Syria's military intelligence chief and the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Still walking because Assad knows where his family lives. Works every time.
His successor, Belgian Judge Serge Brammertz, has avoided naming anyone but has described a very complex operation and said he is following many new leads.
Smart man. Good survival instinct.
Four Lebanese generals, top pro-Syrian security chiefs under Lahoud including his Presidential Guard commander, have been under arrest for 14 months, accused of involvement in Hariri's murder.
Hopefully they'll remain in custody at least until this trial is over. Unless AI gets its way.
Pro-government groups in Lebanon, who accuse Syria in the slaying of Gemayel and other anti-Syrian figures, have warned that more government ministers may be targeted for assassination to deny the Cabinet the legal two-thirds quorum of 16 needed to approve the court. Syria has denied the accusations and condemned the killing.
Well, it's what the dolts in the Lebanese government asked for, isn't it?