NOW that the UN probe into the murder of former prime minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, has implicated high-ranking Syrian officials in the crime, Syria seems to be heading for a showdown not just with the United States, but the world body itself. When a respected neutral investigator names members of the inner circle of President Bashar Assad as involved in the dastardly murder, what Syria must do is to prove the charges wrong with evidence that will withstand judicial scrutiny. But its first reaction has been one of angry denials. Damascus must do better than this, otherwise the serious allegations contained in the report will be a festering wound opening the way for further US-led moves for sanctions against Syria in the UN Security Council.
The UN report may well be wrong in concluding, as it does, that there was “ a probable cause” to believe that top Syrian officials were involved in the plot to kill Hariri but to attack the report as “unprofessional” is both futile and dangerous. The investigation led by Detlev Mehlis concluded it had received only limited cooperation from the Syrian government. The clear inference is that the investigating team believed that the Syrians and their supporters in the Lebanon had something to hide and did their best to keep it hidden. There is an easy way to disprove this claim. The Syrian authorities can produce records, perhaps even transcripts of the interviews that were held by the UN team with Syrians as part of their investigation. These ought to show clearly whether or not the responses were full and frank or whether awkward questions were headed off. Likewise, now that a series of allegations has been published, it is open to Damascus and indeed to Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud, who is also linked to the crime, to disprove them in detail, one by one.
The problem is that the perception around the world is that Syria did indeed have a hand in this terrible bombing crime. Syria’s enemies are undoubtedly seeking to make political capital out of the report but to accuse the report itself of being “politicized” is a serious mistake. What that means is that the UN itself has allowed a key investigation to be directed by political interests. While some governments may fight each other in the Security Council and on the floor of the General Assembly, it is another matter to suggest that an inquiry ordered by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan could be influenced by individual member states.
Annan has decided the investigation will continue for another two months. This represents an opportunity for those over whom the shadow of guilt has fallen to set the record straight. The media hype should be ignored. It is a bad guide to the truth and public rebuttals and counteraccusations only feed the frenzy of speculation. The investigators are the only people who matter. No allegations have been made against Bashar. There is a clear possibility, however, that rogue elements within Syrian security were somehow party to the crime. The apparent suicide of Damascus’ former Lebanon Security Chief Gaza Kanaan lends weight to this. It is up to Syria to prove the investigators wrong.
