A special U.N. tribunal to try the suspected assassins of Lebanese former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri is on track to start operations on March 1, according to a U.N. report issued on Wednesday. "On the basis of the progress so far reported ... it is envisaged that the Special Tribunal will commence functioning on 1 March 2009," Ban Ki-moon wrote in the report.
The 2005 assassination sparked a worldwide outcry that forced the withdrawal of Syrian troops that had been in Lebanon for nearly 30 years. A U.N. probe and the establishment of the tribunal remain sensitive issues in Lebanon, where tension between pro- and anti-Syrian camps runs high.
Preparations underway
Hariri and 22 other people died in a car bomb explosion in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005. Some anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians said Syria was behind the suicide bombing, a charge Damascus vehemently denies. The attack 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.
U.N. investigators have neither publicly identified suspects nor issued indictments. The U.N. Security Council voted in May 2007 to set up the tribunal in The Hague, in the Netherlands.
"It is my belief that the impending start of the special tribunal will send a strong signal that the government of Lebanon and the United Nations remain committed to ending impunity in Lebanon," he said.
The U.N report said the start-up phase of the tribunal was well under way, including recruitment and training of staff, preparation of premises for the court and the raising of sufficient funds to meet the budget.
United Nation weighs in
Ban said in the report he had selected both international and Lebanese judges in the case but would not announce their names until all necessary security measures were in place. "Practical arrangements for the prosecutor to arrive in The Hague on 1 March 2009 and to continue the investigation with the minimum of disruption to the investigation will soon be finalized," the report said.
"It is my belief that the impending start of the special tribunal will send a strong signal that the government of Lebanon and the United Nations remain committed to ending impunity in Lebanon," he said.
Prosecutors said a likely motive for the killing was the role of Hariri, who became a prominent critic of Syria, in support of a 2004 U.N. resolution demanding that Syrian and other foreign troops withdraw from Lebanon.
Canadian prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, who took charge of the U.N. investigation from Belgium's Serge Brammertz at the beginning of this year, said in March a network of individuals was responsible for the killing and it was linked to other political attacks.
Ban's report said the proposed budget for establishing the tribunal and for its first year of operations was $51 million, and there was sufficient money in hand to go ahead with it.
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A special U.N. tribunal to try the suspected assassins of Lebanese former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri is on track to start operations on March 1, according to a U.N. report issued on Wednesday. "On the basis of the progress so far reported ... it is envisaged that the Special Tribunal will commence functioning on 1 March 2009," Ban Ki-moon wrote in the report. 
