Dutch 'not interested' in hosting yet another court

Daily Star - Dutch 'not interested' in hosting yet another court, June 1, 2007.

The Netherlands is not interested in hosting a special court to prosecute the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
"The burden of the tribunals should be divided evenly," said Robert Dekker, a spokesman at the ministry.
"The Netherlands has hosted several tribunals," Dekker said, adding that the country had not received a request from the UN or from Lebanon.
The Security Council voted Wednesday to set up a special court to prosecute the murderers of Hariri and 22 others in a Beirut blast in Febru-ary 2005.
The German presidency of the EU on Thursday welcomed UN Resolution 1575, which created the tribunal.
"This Security Council resolution sends out an important signal from the international community that politically motivated attacks and killings in Lebanon must not go unpunished," it said in a statement. "The presidency would welcome it if the Lebanese Republic were to seize the opportunity granted it by the UN Security Council to ratify the special tribunal
itself by the June 10 deadline."
The legally binding resolution sets a June 10 deadline for Lebanon's bickering political camps to agree on the tribunal before the resolution comes into force.
Berlin called on the international community and the parties in Lebanon to ensure court's timely establishment and full cooperation with it.
"In this context, the presidency reiterates its call to all sides in Lebanon to resolve the domestic political crisis through dialogue, by following democratic procedures and by respecting the country's democratically legitimized institutions," the statement said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also welcomed on Thursday the UN Security Council's decision to create the tribunal.
"It is an important decision for Lebanon and for all the Lebanese," Sarkozy said. "It is not the victory of one faction over another, but rather that of justice over impunity."
The creation of the tribunal "marks the beginning of a process that will allow all the Lebanese people to rediscover the path of reconciliation and unity," he added. "The Lebanese people have demanded truth and justice so that the crimes of the past are not left unpunished."
Australia also welcomed the establishment of the tribunal. "Australia has long supported efforts to try those responsible for Mr. Hariri's assassination and calls upon all parties to cooperate fully with the special tribunal," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in a statement. "Action by the Security Council is entirely appropriate in the face of a domestic political impasse which has stymied the government of Lebanon's efforts to establish the special tribunal."
Syria, however, denounced the Security Council's decision.
"It seemed clear during the debates preceding the vote that the US administration wanted to avenge itself of those opposed to its invasions and policies in the region," said the Syrian government daily Tishreen.
The newspaper said the vote, with 10 of the 15 council members voting in favor of forming the tribunal and five abstaining, did not represent the will of the international community.
"This is an Israeli-American resolution par excellence, which cannot be interpreted as the will of the international community, as the strong divisions on the Security Council demonstrated," the newspaper added.
It said the bulk of world opinion was actually against the resolution, since "Qatar represents Arab countries on the Security Council, Indonesia the Muslim world, South Africa and the non-aligned nations, while China and Russia are two superpowers."
An initial UN inquiry implicated Syria, and four pro-Syrian security chiefs were arrested and remain in custody. Syria has consistently denied involvement and vowed not to cooperate with the court.