FEATURE-Court for Hariri killers at heart of Lebanon split
Source: Reuters
By Tom Perry BEIRUT, Feb 13 (Reuters) - A glass case by Rafik al-Hariri's grave displays proposals for a tribunal to try the former Lebanese prime minister's killers, but political stalemate means that two years after he was killed no court has been set up. "The Lebanese want to know the truth," said Mohammad Arab as he decorated a statue in nearby Martyrs Square with blue ribbons and balloons to mark the second anniversary of Hariri's killing. Placed at Hariri's grave by his son and political heir, Saad, the plans for a U.N.-backed court are at the heart of Lebanon's worst political crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. All Lebanon's leaders say they agree on the idea of a tribunal to punish those behind the Feb. 14, 2005 bombing, blamed by Hariri's allies on Syria. Damascus denies involvement. But mistrust runs deep between anti-Syrian Lebanese leaders who want the court set up now and their rivals who are close to Damascus and fear it will be used for political score settling. Analysts say Syria fears the tribunal aims to weaken its government, and that could spell more instability in Lebanon. "Syria is looking for credible guarantees that it will not be used as an instrument against the regime, whereas the U.S. sees the tribunal precisely as an ideal means of isolating, pressuring and destabilising Syria," the International Crisis Group think-tank said in a December report. "To choose (Lebanon) as the arena for a full-fledged confrontation with Syria is a misguided and dangerous strategy -- one that is likely to destabilise Lebanon well before it destabilises Syria", it said. The timing of two bombs that killed three in a Christian area on Tuesday was linked to the court, said Saad al-Hariri. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of the martyr and we are finding confrontation and explosions as happened today," he told LBC television. "With every step towards the international tribunal, we find explosions." COURT ESSENTIAL Lebanon's government, controlled by Saad al-Hariri and his anti-Syrian allies, has already approved a U.N. plan for the tribunal. But the Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah and Amal movements, both Syrian allies, want to discuss the court's mandate. Hariri and his anti-Syrian March 14 coalition say Hezbollah and Amal are acting on Syrian orders to derail the process. "For March 14, the tribunal is essential," said analyst Sami Baroudi. "It's a way of ending the chapter of the pax Syriana." Syria was forced to withdraw troops from Lebanon after Hariri's assassination. It had dominated Lebanon for years, but the killing triggered protests and international pressure, led by the United States and France, and forced out Syrian forces. "To not go forward would symbolise the Syrians, once again, having a veto over Lebanese affairs," said Andrew Exum, research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. HEZBOLLAH CONCERNS U.N. investigators are probing the Hariri killing and attacks on other anti-Syrian figures. Three journalists and politicians were killed after Hariri in 2005 and a fourth, cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel, was assassinated last November. Senior Syrian and Lebanese officials were implicated in the Hariri killing by U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis, who led the early stages of the enquiry. But Serge Brammertz, who took over in 2006, has so far given no indication of who he suspects. He praised Syrian cooperation as "timely and efficient" in his December progress report but said 10 other U.N. member states were late in responding to requests for assistance. The United States, France and other states opposed a Russian attempt to reveal the countries. "This is a scandal and confirms that the investigation is subject to politicisation," Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said last month. Druze anti-Syrian leader Walid Jumblatt accused Hezbollah in December, for the first time, of being behind some of the killings. His allies have not repeated the charge. "This raises many doubts and confirms the fears ... that the coming international tribunal is a court for settling political scores," Nasrallah told Kuwait's al-Anbaa newspaper. Lebanon's pro-Syrian president has refused to approve the tribunal and its pro-Syrian head of parliament will not call the chamber to vote on the text because, like Hezbollah and the president, he contests the legitimacy of the current government. March 14 leaders want to push the United Nations to set up the court, perhaps through Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter. "The creation of the tribunal is irreversible," Marwan Hamadeh, a government minister and March 14 leader said. "I still prefer the country's approval. But if there's a blockage, then we will have to act differently," he told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy)
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