September 18, 2009 - Naharnet - Ban Rejects Syrian Request to Interrogate Mehlis and his Aide

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has rejected a request by Syria to interrogate former chief investigator Detlev Mehlis and his aide Gerhard Lehmann for allegedly trying to frame Damascus in the assassination case of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.
"This is not within my domain," Ban told reporters when asked to clarify the request by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem for him to investigate Mehlis and Lehmann.
"I believe that accountability for violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law is essential to both protection of human dignity and the quest for sustainable peace and security," Ban said during his monthly press conference. "In that regard, I have been supporting Judge Goldstone's Mission to investigate any violations of human rights and humanitarian laws in Gaza. As this report was released yesterday, I have directed our staff to have a detailed review of the recommendations of this report and we will discuss this matter when we have fully reviewed this report," Ban added. The U.N. chief said that he had a telephone conversation with Judge Goldstone and "I was informed by him of broader outlines of his report before he had released his report publicly. And we will continue to discuss with him." Ban stressed that he had "full confidence" in Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare. "He has been doing a great job, with a strong sense of integrity. This is what I believe he will continue to do," Ban said of Bellemare. Turning to the Lebanon political situation, Ban said he has seen "encouraging developments." He hoped that Lebanon will be able to fulfill its "aspiration to have a national unity government." "Now that, through this election, when Mr. (Saad) Hariri was designated as the next Prime Minister, he should be able to form a national unity government," Ban thought. He said he was "relieved" when Hariri was reappointed by President Michel Suleiman. "I sincerely hope that all the political party leaders – they should fully cooperate and should exercise their flexibility for the future of Lebanon and for the overall peace and security in the region," Ban wished. "That is very important. They have normalized their relationship (with) Syria – that is also very significantly important, to which I have been working very, very hard," he added. Ban said he will be discussing this issue with Suleiman during his visit to New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly meeting scheduled for Sept. 22.