Daily Star - Security Council states receive report on probe into Hariri assassination

By Michael Bluhm
The new report from the UN commission investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will most likely be released on Tuesday, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's office began distributing the report on Monday to UN Security Council members, a UN official told The Daily Star. The report comes only days after Ban announced the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, to try suspects in Hariri's killing and other political crimes, was expected to be established on March 1 next year in The Hague. The UN will make the progress report public only after all Security Council member states receive a copy, said Farhan Haq, spokesman for the secretary general's office. The Security Council will meet on Tuesday to set a date to review the report, while the council has made tentative plans to deal with the report around December 15, Haq added. The commission's last report, issued in March, said a "criminal network" perpetrated Hariri's February 2005 assassination, which sparked mass demonstrations that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops after a 29-year presence in Lebanon. Canadian prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, who heads the investigation commission, will become the tribunal's first prosecutor, and he will probably submit indictments in the killing around the time he takes office at the tribunal, said Marieke Wierda, director of the criminal justice program at the International Center for Transitional Justice. "It suggests the commission is probably nearing a stage where it's ready to bring indictments," added Wierda, who served as a lawyer at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and has worked with various international tribunals for more than 10 years. Although the investigation team has yet to name any suspects in the killing, many in Lebanon's March 14 political alliance have blamed Damascus for the assassination and for much of the other violence that has plagued Lebanon's recent past. Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied any Syrian role in the killing and said he would not allow Syrian citizens to appear before the tribunal. Many Lebanese have speculated about the length of time to set up the court since the February 2005 assassination, while Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Damascus had received offers to terminate the tribunal in return for facilitating a presidential election in Lebanon. Lebanon endured a six-month vacuum atop the state until Michel Sleiman's election in May. "These delays have given rise to a level of skepticism about when this is going to happen," said Wierda, adding that Ban's setting the March 1 date was a positive development. Local media continue to debate how much progress Bellemare has made, with some doubt revolving around job postings on the tribunal's website. The site advertises six vacancies for investigators, whose job description includes "developing a comprehensive investigation plan to ensure that all investigative avenues are addressed ... conduct[ing] all facets of investigations, which will include developing leads, analyzing information and intelligence, conducting and recording interviews of witnesses, examining physical evidence and making recommendations on follow-up." In addition, the date of the tribunal's official establishment might well be less important than other issues, such as the rules for procedure and evidence to be established by the tribunal's 11 judges, Wierda said. The judges will not conduct their initial meeting to divide their number among the tribunal's various chambers until after March 1, said tribunal registrar Robin Vincent. At the tribunal's headquarters in The Hague, meanwhile, work is focusing on adding security measures and hiring staff, Vincent added. A security fence should be completed around the tribunal - a former Dutch intelligence services office - by the end of this year, along with new screening facilities at the building's entrance and secure parking arrangements, Vincent said.
The tribunal should add more than 70 employees by January 2009, including staff for security, finance, procurement and information technology, he added. The tribunal's management committee has approved a roughly $51 million budget for 2009, although Vincent still has to work out the details of the expenditures, he added.
The tribunal will also pursue a public outreach program, striving to emphasize to the Lebanese public the independence of the tribunal, he said.