The UN Security Council unequivocally condemned Tuesday's assassination of a prominent anti-Syrian Cabinet member and approved a tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of another Lebanese politician - former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. US Ambassador John Bolton said the killing of Christian politician Pierre Gemayel raised the possibility of Syrian involvement. He said the United States will seek to add Gemayel's murder to the list of those whose alleged killers would be prosecuted by the tribunal. It now includes Hariri and 14 other Lebanese who died at the hands of assassins or their bombs.
The Security Council expressed grave concern at the possible impact of Gemayel's assassination on efforts "to solidify democracy" in the country and condemned "any attempt to destabilize Lebanon through political assassination or other terrorist acts." In a statement adopted by consensus and read by the council president, members called Gemayel "a patriot who was a symbol of freedom and of the political independence of Lebanon."