Serge Brammertz, the head of the Independent International Investigation Commission dealing with Lebanon, briefed the Security Council in an open meeting Wednesday about the CommissionÂ’s consolidation of its work, which has resulted in a series of detailed reports totaling more than 2,400 pages. Brammertz said that a number of people of interest have been identified who may have been involved in some aspects of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, and common links have been found across a number of cases. He also warned the Council that the security situation in Lebanon has deteriorated, and stressed that the security of witnesses and people who cooperate with the Commission needs to be guaranteed. He then continued to talk with Council members in closed consultations. After that, Brammertz spoke to reporters, telling them that the Commission is ready to hand over its work to a tribunal when it begins to function. He added that more work needs to be done to complete the investigation, before indictments can be made. "The Commission stands ready to cooperate with the secretary general and with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to ensure a smooth handover to the Tribunal at the time when the Tribunal shall begin functioning," Brammertz told the Council.
The UN spokesperson said Brammertz told reporters after the briefing that the Commission "is not ready" at this time to go to the court. "Mr. Brammertz said that the Commission needed more time, without specifying a timeline," said UN spokesperson Farhan Haq.
During the briefing, Brammertz said Syria and other states continued to provide mostly positive responses to requests for assistance. "Cooperation with Syria remain generally satisfactory, Syria provided timely responses to the Commission's 11 requests for assistance during this reporting period." Brammertz also said investigators had narrowed down possible motives for the slaying Hariri and some of the aspects "include, among others, the role of the Bank Al-Madina affair."
"The Commission is currently working on new information regarding the sale of the van to individuals who could be involved in its final preparation for the attack on Hariri," he said.
In the report the Commission said it uncovered new information about the buyers of the Mitsubishi Canter van "most likely used to carry the explosives" that killed Hariri and 22 others on February 14, 2005. The report said the van was stolen from Japan in October 2004, then shipped to the UAE and later shipped to Lebanon, ending up in a showroom in Tripoli in December 2004.
The Brammertz report said attempts to block President Emile Lahoud's term extension via constitutional amendment "played an important role in shaping the environment in which the motives to assassinate Rafik Hariri emerged," specifically UN Resolution 1559.