Hague tribunal meets to inquire into assassination of former Lebanese PM

THE INTERNATIONAL tribunal established at The Hague to try the alleged assassins of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri convened yesterday.

The court, a panel of four Lebanese and seven international judges, pledged to provide justice for victims of terrorism. “By the very nature of its mandate [the Special Tribunal for Lebanon] is the first international anti-terrorist tribunal,” stated Daniel Bellemare, the Canadian who has taken up the post of prosecutor.

He said the court was not created to take revenge, but to mete out justice “that ensures everybody is treated with dignity and respect”. He has 60 days to apply to Lebanon for the transfer for trial of four senior security personnel imprisoned on suspicion of involvement in the February 2005 killing of Hariri.

The accused are Maj Gen Jamil al-Sayyad; former chief of police Maj Gen Ali al-Hajj; former military intelligence chief Brigadier Raymond Azar, and presidential guard commander Mustafa Hamdan, who served while Syria dominated its smaller neighbour.

They claim they are innocent of the charges which, they say, are politically motivated. Last week, two Lebanese civilians and a Syrian who were accused of misleading the inquiry were released by the Lebanese authorities.

While the transfer of the four is likely to be carried out without a hitch, no trial date has been set and collating the voluminous evidence could take many months.

Hariri and 22 others died when a massive truck bomb targeted his convoy of armoured cars as it moved along the seafront in Beirut. Saad Hariri, son of the slain politician, his Lebanese allies and the US and France promptly accused Syria of being responsible. Damascus has vehemently denied the charge.

Mr Bellemare has stayed silent concerning his investigation, unlike his predecessor Detlev Mehlis, a German prosecutor who publicly blamed Syria for the assassination. Hariri’s death led to the rise of an anti-Syrian popular movement which, combined with western pressure, forced Damascus into a military withdrawal of its 29,000 troops from Lebanon after 29 years.

Outside observers suggest that the desire of the new US administration and western governments to re-engage with Damascus could result in pressure on the prose- cutor to play down any role Syria might have had in the assassination plot.

As one Arab commentator remarked: “The climate has changed from confrontation to reconciliation.”

Prospects for the tribunal are mixed. Many Lebanese are sceptical about its ability to reach a clear verdict on the Hariri case.

A number of Lebanon’s leading politicians have been assassinated since the country became independent in 1943. Few of the perpetrators have been brought to book.

Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces Maronite Christian militia, and nine of his colleagues were convicted of the murder of prime minister Rashid Karami in 1987 and imprisoned. They were later pardoned after Hariri’s killing.

Dr Geagea is now involved in the ruling coalition.