UNITED NATIONS, 11 February 2007 — Lebanese former President Amin Gemayel on Friday sided with the Beirut government against the pro-Syrian opposition over creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in former Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder. After calling on UN chief Ban Ki-moon here, Gemayel told a press conference that to expose “the truth about terrorist actions perpetrated in Lebanon is essential for the empowerment of its democracy.”
“The democratically elected Parliament ... which is a legitimate institution, has approved the international tribunal with a big majority,” he added. The United Nations said Tuesday it signed an accord with the Lebanese government of Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to set up an international court to prosecute the suspected killers of Hariri.
Syria, the longtime powerbroker in Lebanon, is widely suspected of involvement in the assassination of Hariri, who was seeking to lessen the influence of Damascus over his country. Last November, the UN Security Council approved creation of the tribunal that would try suspects in the February 2005 bomb attack in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others. “The government and the parliamentary majority remain committed to establishing the tribunal... This tribunal is a prerequisite to reestablishing law and order not only in Lebanon but all around,” Gemayel noted. Gemayel, whose son, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, was killed on Nov. 21 in Beirut by unknown assailants, called on US President George W. Bush in Washington on Thursday.
Amin Gemayel served as Lebanon’s president from 1982 to 1988 after the assassination of his newly elected brother Bashir. He views neighboring Syria as the prime suspect in his son’s death.
Asked whether a binding Security Council resolution under Chapter Seven of the UN charter might be required to secure the establishment of the tribunal in view of the political stalemate in Lebanon, the ex-president replied: “We attach importance to Chapter VI.” The draft agreement on the tribunal has to be ratified by Siniora and pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, who sides with the opposition in rejecting the legitimacy of Siniora’s Cabinet.
Since Dec. 1, the Lebanese opposition led by the Syrian— and Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been holding an open-ended protest to demand the rump cabinet’s replacement with a government of national unity.
