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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Mehlis Points Finger at 'Pro-Syrian Forces in Lebanon' |
| 2006-11-22 |
| "It is an attack on the Lebanese government and the planned international tribunal (to examine Hariri's murder) and it is also an attack on the U.N.," Mehlis told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily newspaper to be published on Thursday. "It is apparent to anyone who is unbiased that all the clues after this attack clearly point to the forces who want to bring down the Lebanese government and get in the way of the tribunal. These are the so-called pro-Syrian forces in Lebanon. They have an obvious motive." Just hours after Gemayel's shooting, the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday endorsed plans for an international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri murder case. Mehlis said it remained "in no way certain" that the tribunal would ever be set up. He said the Security Council's backing was only a quarter of the approval process. The idea of the tribunal now had to be given the green light by the Lebanese parliament and possibly also by the president or the prime minister, he said. Mehlis' investigation into the Hariri case pointed the finger at the Lebanese and Syrian secret services. In one report, Mehlis implicated Brig. Gen. Assaf Shawkat, Syria's military intelligence chief and the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar Assad. His successor, Brammertz, has shied away naming anyone but has described it as a very complex operation. Four Lebanese generals — top pro-Syrian security chiefs under President Emile Lahoud including his presidential guard commander — have been under arrest for 14 months, accused of involvement in Hariri's killing. Syria has denied involvement in the murder and condemned the assassination of Gemayel as "a crime aimed at destabilizing" Lebanon. |
| Posted by:mrp |