At the United Nations, officials and diplomats said Wednesday that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has nominated Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz to lead the next stage of the Hariri probe. They said Brammertz, a deputy prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, had accepted Annan's offer and that the world body was waiting to make an announcement because the chief ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, had not written a letter formally releasing him. They spoke on condition of anonymity because his appointment had not been made public.| Appointing a Belgian ICC dude prolly means the UN has formally lost interest in the inquiry. |
There was some fear that the United States, which opposes the ICC, might object to Brammertz's appointment, but U.S. Ambassador John "Darth" Bolton said Wednesday that was not the case. "We believe strongly that a clear signal of determination and continuity must be sent to Syria's leaders," Bolton said in a statement. Brammertz was not commenting on issues relating to the Hariri position, including the threats, ICC prosecution spokesman Christian Palme said. |