UN investigator seeks more time for Hariri probe
Reuters
Date: 08-22-05
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A United Nations team investigating the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has asked for an extension of its mandate when it expires this week, U.N. officials said on Monday..
The 15-nation U.N. Security Council gave the 50-member team, led by German prosecutor, Detlev Mehlis a renewable three-month mandate to investigate the February assassination. He began work on May 25.
In New York, Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs, said he would present an interim report from Mehlis to the Security Council on Thursday and would say the team was making progress.
"The fact that he's requesting an extension doesn't mean it's not going well," Gambari said, adding that Mehlis was expected in New York in September.
Many Lebanese have accused Syria of being behind the car bomb that killed Hariri, a blast that plunged Lebanon into its worst political crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
Syria has denied involvement but, under international pressure, withdrew its troops from the small neighbour it had dominated for nearly 30 years.
Mehlis probably will need "only an additional few weeks" to complete the probe, U.N. spokesman Nejib Friji told Reuters in Beirut.
Friji said the report might contain "broad aspects of the investigation at this advanced stage." Gambari said it would not give any names of possible suspects.
The United Nations ordered the investigation after its fact-finding mission led by Irish Deputy Police Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald found an earlier Lebanese inquiry "seriously flawed."
Mehlis has asked to interview Syrian officials as part of the probe, and is waiting for a Syrian government response.
"Mehlis is looking forward to Syrian cooperation in this regard and is quite confident that the Syrian segment of the investigation will be very, very helpful," Friji said.
Hariri's killing was followed by a string of bombings in mainly Christian suburbs of Beirut, the assassination of two prominent anti-Syrian figures and a botched assassination attempt against a minister.
Local media have speculated that Lebanon risks a slide into instability and anarchy if the investigation implicates Syria in Hariri's killing, but Friji denied this.
"The conclusions of the investigation will not affect the stability of Lebanon. On the contrary, the investigation will disclose the truth and will hopefully contribute to putting an end to political assassinations and reinstate the rule of law, a prerequisite for stability and normalcy," he said.
Last week, the Finance Ministry announced it was beefing up its foreign exchange reserves to weather any political or economic turbulence that could result from the probe.
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