SYRIA: In a bid to stave off UN action against his country, Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, decreed on Saturday the creation of a judicial commission to investigate the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri.
The inquiry will co-operate with the Lebanese judicial authorities and the UN team, headed by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, which on October 21st presented a report to the UN Security Council alleging the involvement of high-ranking Syrian security officials in the planning and execution of the bombing of Mr Hariri's motorcade as it sped through the streets of Beirut last February.
The unprecedented commission will be made up of Syria's prosecutor-general, the military prosecutor and a judge chosen by the justice minister. It will interrogate Syrian "civilians and military personnel on all matters relating to the UN investigation committee's mission". Lebanon has arrested and charged four of its senior security figures with ties to Damascus in connection with the assassination.
Syrian Justice Minister Muhammad Ghafari reiterated Damascus' claim of innocence and said it was in his government's interest that the truth be exposed. "Syria . . . is ready to pursue [ legally] any Syrian whose involvement in this crime is proven in an irrefutable manner and to transfer them to a tribunal," he said.
This could prove to be very difficult for Mr Assad, as a leaked confidential portion of the preliminary UN report contained testimony from unidentified witnesses connecting the president's brother, Maher, commander of the presidential guard, and his brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat, the chief of military intelligence, to the killing.
The UN Security Council, meeting at ministerial level today, is set to consider a resolution drafted by the US, France and Britain. It is expected to threaten sanctions if Syria fails to co-operate fully with the UN team.
The text is said to require Damascus to detain anyone considered a suspect and to permit Syrian witnesses and suspects to be interrogated without the presence of Syrian officials or have them travel abroad for questioning.
The resolution would freeze the assets of, and impose a travel ban on, anyone named as a suspect until the investigation is complete. The draft also calls on Syria to stop intervening in Lebanon's affairs and halt its support for dissident Palestinian groups and militants operating in Iraq.
If Syria does not comply, the draft says the council will consider measures, including sanctions, "to ensure compliance by Syria".
Although Washington's ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, has claimed that the resolution would pass, this is not certain. Russia and China, both permanent members, have expressed their reservations and could veto it. Algeria, the only Arab country on the council, has stated strong objections. Its UN ambassador, Abdallah Baali, said his government and others felt it was "premature" to speak of sanctions.
