Daily Star - UN chief determined to see Special Tribunal established. Ban committed to 'culture of holding criminals accountable, August 04, 2008

BEIRUT: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in remarks published Saturday he was keen on having the Special Court for Lebanon see light "because the international organization is committed to the principle that criminals should not enjoy immunity." The pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported that Ban made the remark during a reception hosted by the Egyptian mission to the UN. "You shouldn't doubt my commitment to the culture of holding criminals accountable for their acts and you shouldn't doubt my commitment to the international tribunal for Lebanon [to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and related crimes]," Al-Hayat quoted Ban as saying. Also commenting on the international tribunal and stressing the need to castigate criminals, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said in remarks published Sunday he had "yet to examine the full dossier concerning the international court." In an interview with Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabs, Najjar said the Lebanese were determined to reveal the truth behind the series of political murders that shook the country from 2004 to 2007. "Failing to incarcerate criminals would reflect weakness and encourage perpetrators to pursue their criminal schemes," he said, adding that assassinations "poisoned the lives of the Lebanese for a long time." "We will not rest until we reveal the truth behind those horrific assassinations," he said. Najjar added that the process of establishing the Special Court for Lebanon "still requires some more time and conditions to be established." He also voiced hope that the tribunal would not be politicized "in order to prove that Lebanon is a civilized country and that the Lebanese are responsible people." The justice minister said that the 2009 parliamentary elections, in addition to introducing reforms to the Lebanese administrative system, "are likely to ensure that the tribunal won't be politicized." Najjar added that national dialogue among Lebanese groups was likely "to help the Lebanese solve all pending issues and provide the framework for building a proper state.""[Hizbullah leader Sayyed] Hassan Nasrallah's recent call for dialogue among the Lebanese in addition to Syrian-Israeli talks are likely to appease tensions in Lebanon and allow various groups to launch dialogue," he added. Meanwhile, a source at the United Nations had told As-Safir newspaper in remarks published Thursday that that the international tribunal is set to begin its work in early 2009. The source, who is close to the UN secretary general, said that the Security Council had agreed last month to extend the mandate of chief UN investigator Daniel Bellemare until the end of this year, but the source raised doubts on whether the Council would agree to extend Bellemare's mandate again. "This means that at the end of the year, the investigator will assume his new position as prosecutor for the international court," the source at the UN added, an indication that Bellemare had made progress in the probe into Hariri's February 2005 assassination. "I believe that [Bellmare] now has something that will enable him to proceed to assume the position of prosecutor," the source said. According to the source, Bellemare is not planning to disclose the names of the accused, but rather he will deliver them to the investigating judge, who will in turn decide whether to accept or reject the requests for detention. The UN source said that Ban preferred not to announce the names of the Lebanese and international judges until the end of the year "in order to reduce expenses and also to protect their lives." He added that as soon as the judges' names are announced, they will be transported to The Hague and placed under guard. The tribunal is based at a former Dutch intelligence headquarters in a suburb of The Hague.