Security Council OKs Hariri Tribunal

Lebanese legislator Saad Hariri, son of slain former Premier Rafik Hariri, speaks during a press conference at his house in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday Nov. 21, 2006. Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, broke off a televised news conference after hearing that Pierre Gemayel had been shot. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (Hussein Malla - AP)

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday approved a tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 14 others, ironically the same day another anti-Syrian politician was gunned down in Lebanon.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the United States will seek to add Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, a prominent Christian and strong supporter of democracy in Lebanon, to the list of those whose alleged killers would be prosecuted by the mixed U.N.-Lebanese tribunal.

Gemayel, 34, was ambushed as he was leaving church in Beirut on Tuesday. His killing came hours before a deadline for council members to approve a letter authorizing Secretary-General Kofi Annan to establish the tribunal with the cooperation of the Lebanese government.

The agreement by the U.N. and the Lebanese government, announced last week by Annan, would create a tribunal outside Lebanon with a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor. Annan said having more international than Lebanese judges would help ensure the tribunal's independence.

With the Security Council's approval, it will now be up to the Lebanese government to make the final decision on establishing the tribunal.

Anti-Syrian Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government is under intense pressure from Hezbollah, which has close ties to Syria and Iran, to give them more power or face street protests. Saniora's Council of Ministers approved the tribunal plan on Nov. 13 but pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud has challenged the ministers' decision.

At the same time the council approved the tribunal, it adopted a France-drafted statement condemning Gemayel's killing and calling him "a symbol of freedom and of the political independence of Lebanon."

France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere called the assassination "an attempt to destabilize Lebanon" and warned: "There will be no peace without justice in Lebanon."

Bolton stressed that the dual actions by the Security Council of approving the tribunal and condemning Gemayel's assassination sent "an important signal ... in support of the democratic forces in Lebanon."

Both Russia and Qatar _ the only Arab member of the Security Council _ had raised questions about the constitutionality of the agreement to establish the tribunal because of the differences between the prime minister and president. But the council agreed Monday that any constitutional issues should be decided by the Lebanese government _ not the United Nations.

Qatar's U.N. Ambassador Nassir Al-Nasser agreed to support the letter to Annan authorizing the tribunal but sent a separate letter to the council president insisting that the agreement meet the requirements of Lebanon's constitution, including approval by Lebanon's president and parliament.

"The draft agreement and the statute of the Special Tribunal will not come into force until all such constitutional requirements are met," Al-Nasser wrote in the letter.