Feltman stresses urgency of Hariri tribunal

Daily Star, Feltman stresses urgency of Hariri tribunal, May 4, 2007

By Rym Ghazal

BEIRUT: The US Thursday framed as urgent the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri and other crimes, a day after a UN envoy seeking to broker a Lebanese agreement on the issue reported failure to the UN Security Council. "We are running out of time," US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said of the tribunal in an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.
A UN spokesman told The Daily Star Thursday the international body had not determined its next step on the tribunal.
A report Wednesday by Nicolas Michel, UN undersecretary general for legal affairs, that his mediation initiative on the court had failed was the latest twist in a months-long course in which tribunal backers have tested the possibility of its establishment by UN fiat.
"Members of the UN council are still discussing the matter but have not yet decided on anything concrete," the spokesperson said on the eve of the latest council report on UN Resolution 1559.
Lebanon's opposition has objected to the formation of the court under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which would effectively bypass Parliament.
Government sources told The Daily Star that the next Cabinet session would focus on the tribunal and the question of what pertinent documents to send UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
Ban is not expected to address the issue until after his return from a conference on Iraq security in Sharm el-Sheikh Friday.
Feltman warned Thursday that if Lebanon's major political camps fail to agree on the court, the UN could take action under Chapter 7, which deals with threats to international peace and security and authorizes a range of measures from breaking diplomatic and trade relations to military intervention.
Feltman denied reports that the court issue would be discussed in Egypt.
"Lebanon is not on the agenda of the Sharm el-Sheikh conference," he said, also denying reports that the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch had met Thursday with Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Rome.
Feltman expressed regret that Lebanese politicians had not reached an agreement over the court.
"The speaker has no intention of opening Parliament for the court issue to be settled," said Feltman, referring to opposition leader Nabih Berri, who has declined to convene the legislator in 2007.
"It is not a US decision alone," said Feltman of the court. "The US is just one of 15 countries that will make a decision on this issue."
Feltman said his visit with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on Thursday had been "routine" and that he agreed with Aoun's point that Lebanon would benefit from popular presidential elections.
Local daily Al-Hayat quoted a French source Thursday as saying France had already prepared a summary on how to establish the court under Chapter 7 and that the US had agreed to it.
Separately, Russia's envoy to the UN objected to the idea of a Chapter 7 resolution, despite reports that Russia would not veto such a resolution.
MPs from the ruling majority announced Thursday they would sign a petition calling for an "extraordinary" parliamentary session to circumvent Berri's refusal to convene the body.
Former Premier Salim al-Hoss, who has been actively involved in efforts to resolve the country's five-month political deadlock, called on the rival politicians to meet and discuss the court before the issue further divides the country.
"There is an urgent need for a national dialogue to occur over the court issue ... and on the formation of a government of national unity," Hoss said.