Beirut Braces for Unrest After Vote To Pursue Assassins of Former Premier
By Colum Lynch and Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 31, 2007
UNITED NATIONS, May 30 -- A sharply divided U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to create an international criminal tribunal to prosecute the masterminds of the February 2005 suicide bombing that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 others.
The vote will lead to the creation of the first U.N.-backed criminal tribunal in the Middle East, raising expectations that Hariri's killers will be held accountable. But that has stoked fears among Lebanese authorities and some council members that supporters of Syria -- which has been linked to the assassination -- will plunge Lebanon's fledgling democracy into a bloody new round of internal strife.
Fearing unrest, authorities imposed a partial curfew in Beirut, leaving the streets deserted. Lebanese placed lighted candles on boulevards and balconies to celebrate the outcome and sent congratulatory text messages countrywide.
Lebanon's political leaders are deeply split over the ongoing pursuit of justice by a U.N. commission that has implicated senior pro-Syrian military officers in Lebanon, as well as Syrian officials close to President Bashar al-Assad. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora urged the council to establish the court, while Lebanon's pro-Syrian opposition leaders opposed the initiative and in March blocked parliamentary approval for such a court.
The U.N. resolution, which will take effect June 10, was approved 10 to 0 by the 15-nation council. China, Indonesia, Qatar, Russia and South Africa abstained from the vote, saying that it bypassed the Lebanese parliament's constitutional role in approving international agreements.
The Security Council "cannot be seen to be taking sides in internal Lebanese politics," Dumisani Kumalo, South Africa's U.N. ambassador, told the council. He said there is a danger that the council's "imposition" of the court on Lebanon's divided political leadership will undercut "the political stability of an already fragile Lebanese state."
Despite their reservations, China and Russia stopped short of voting against the resolution, indicating that they support its aim of holding Hariri's killers accountable. But they said that all key Lebanese political forces should agree on such a momentous decision.
"We believe the perpetrators of that crime must be prosecuted," said Vitaly I. Churkin, Russia's U.N. ambassador. But he said the U.S.-backed resolution contains considerable legal shortcomings and encroaches on Lebanon's sovereignty.
A senior Lebanese envoy praised the council's action, saying it represents a victory for the nation's quest for justice. "This is the path of the salvation of Lebanon," Culture Minister Tarek Mitri told the council, adding that the tribunal will deter further "terrorist activities."
The United States also hailed the decision. "People who have committed political assassination need to be brought to justice," said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "They cannot have impunity."
Khalilzad acknowledged that the council's action might trigger a violent reaction, but he said that "many of us believe that the risks of not moving forward are greater."
Hariri's assassination transformed Lebanon and its relations with Syria. Many Lebanese suspected Syrian involvement from the outset, and massive protests soon compelled Syria to end its 30-year military presence in Lebanon. Syria has denied involvement in violence in Lebanon, but it has signaled that it is not prepared to cooperate with the new U.N.-backed court.
Hariri's son Saad marked the vote by visiting his father's grave in downtown Beirut. "We're asking for justice, not for revenge," Saad Hariri, now the leader of his father's political movement, said in a televised speech, his eyes red and his voice trembling. Siniora said the vote should not be taken as a challenge to Syria. "We are asking for justice, and nothing more," he said.
Wednesday's vote is likely to receive an angry reaction from an array of pro-Syrian forces, including Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and the Hezbollah militia, that maintain that the United Nations and Siniora's government lacks legitimacy to approve the court.
Lebanon and the United Nations agreed last November on a statute for a "mixed" court stationed outside of Lebanon and staffed by international and Lebanese prosecutors and judges. The court would be financed by Lebanese and international funds, though the United Nations and Lebanon have not yet agreed on a location for the trial.
Most of Lebanon's legislators are prepared to approve the statute, but the country's pro-Syrian parliamentary speaker, Nabih Berri, has refused to convene a session of parliament to allow a vote.
In an effort to break the impasse, Siniora issued a direct appeal to the Security Council to establish the court, accusing Berri of thwarting the will of the Lebanese parliament.
The new tribunal is modeled on U.N. criminal courts established to try war criminals in Cambodia and Sierra Leone. But it will function according to Lebanese criminal law, and it will not be able to try suspects for crimes against humanity or other international war crimes.
The court will also have jurisdiction over at least 14 other political attacks against anti-Syrian journalists, scholars and politicians since October 2004. Serge Brammertz, a U.N. investigator, maintains that many of those attacks may be part of a broader political conspiracy linked to Hariri's death.
Syria's critics have expressed hopes the tribunal would lead to Assad's downfall. But observers across the political spectrum say bombings and other violence will increase in Lebanon as the tribunal goes forward. "Security in Lebanon will be in danger," warned Imad Faizi Sheubi, an analyst with the Center of Data and Strategic Studies in Damascus, which is seen as reflecting the Syrian government's position.
In Tripoli, Lebanon, a Sunni cleric put it more bluntly. "I believe [Syria has] the ability not only to stop the tribunal, but to destroy all of Lebanon," said Sheik Bilal Baroudi.
Knickmeyer reported from Tripoli, Lebanon. Special correspondent Alia Ibrahim in Beirut contributed to this report.
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