Syria denied accusations yesterday that it was not aiding the painstaking UN inquiry into former Lebanese Premier Rafik Haririâs assassination, but the slain leaderâs son demanded greater cooperation from all parties involved. Meanwhile, a leading Lebanese Shiite cleric cast doubt over the credibility of the UN chief investigator, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, and accused him of being a friend of Israel.The comments came hours after the United Nations Security Council heard that Syria had not replied to a July 19 request from UN investigators to interview five witnesses, nor had it responded to another July request for documents. Mehlis believes the Syrian silence has âconsiderably slowed downâ the inquiry into Haririâs Feb. 14 assassination in a massive Beirut car bombing that also killed 20 others, Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari told the Security Council on Thursday.
Haririâs murder triggered mass protests in Lebanon that brought down this countryâs pro-Syrian government. It also increased pressure on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, which was completed in late April. A Syrian Foreign Ministry official said accusations that his country was not cooperating with the investigation were âstrange.â Damascus also wanted to keep cooperating âbecause it is very concerned with uncovering the truth behind Premier Haririâs assassination,â the official said in a statement. Syria had received questions from Mehlis addressed to several Syrian witnesses, the official said, adding that Foreign Minister Farouk Shara had handed a letter with details from Syria to the investigating team. But Mehlis had not received the letter on time âbecause of his busy scheduleâ and appeared to have prepared his Security Council report before receiving Syriaâs correspondence, the official said.