Februray 25, 2009 - Daily Star - Lebanese will not be 'kept in the dark' during Hariri tribunal - Vincent

Registrar says court likely to 'finish between three and five years'

By Hussein Abdallah

BEIRUT: Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Registrar Robin Vincent vowed on Tuesday that the tribunal, which will try suspects in the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, would be "transparent in dealing with the media without affecting the confidentiality of some information." Speaking during a news conference at the tribunal's headquarters in The Hague, Vincent said the tribunal would run an information office in Lebanon.
"We have a tribunal for Lebanon that has been placed in The Hague. This is why we need to run an information office in Beirut so that the Lebanese public is not kept in the dark," he said. Vincent said that the funding for the tribunal first year of operation was complete. "The first year's budget is around $51.4 million, 49 percent of which will be paid by the Lebanese government. The remaining amount will be collected from other contributors," he said.
"I recently contacted Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who confirmed that the Lebanese contribution will be paid in full," he added.
The registrar stressed that the tribunal's financial status was "healthy," adding that there were no worries over funding in 2010 and 2011.
Vincent said the court will take years to finish its work.
"I think it would be unlikely you would see this tribunal finish before between three and five years."
"That is my view, but it depends very much on what comes through that door to face the judges," he added.
Vincent also stressed that Lebanon had 60 days to transfer all arrested suspects from Beirut to The Hague.
Among such suspects are former Army Intelligence chief Raymond Azar, General Security head Jamil al-Sayyed, Internal Security Forces director Ali al-Hajj and Presidential Guard head Mustafa Hamdan.
The tribunal, based in a former Dutch intelligence agency in a village just outside The Hague, formally opens for business on Sunday when Canadian Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare and his team in Beirut join the rest of the personnel.
An opening ceremony will be held on Sunday in which Bellemare will make a statement on the progress of the investigation.
The tribunal's premises, a seven storey building, served as a former base for the Dutch Intelligence.
Vincent said that the second and third floors will be dedicated for the prosecutor and his team while the defense will occupy the first floor.
Lawyers who want to assume defense responsibilities will be obliged to send applications in a timely manner, he added.
While pointing out that the tribunal "might" try heads of states, the registrar said that if states refuse to hand over suspects the tribunal could hold trials in absentia, "but only as a last resort."
Vincent also said that an administrative committee has been formed to ward off any pressure on the STL. "The committee will be based in New York with the duty of warding off pressure on the tribunal," he said.
The committee is headed by Britain with Canada acting as vice president. Other members include Holland, the United States, Italy, Germany, France and Japan. Vincent added that the committee was open to other members, specifying $1 million as the cost of one seat on the committee.
Out of some 6,000 job applications received by the STL, Vincent said that the administrative committee approved 3,500 applicants for a number of posts, including more than 100 for the public prosecutor's office and more than 170 to assist the registrar.