Hizbullah says UN role could create 'chaotic Lebanon'
Qassem invites march 14 forces to hold 'lebanese session' to discuss formation of hariri tribunal
By Nada Bakri
Daily Star staff
Saturday, April 14, 2007
BEIRUT: Hizbullah said Friday that in order to avoid "a chaotic Lebanon" the United Nations should remain at an equal distance from all political players and avoid interfering in the country's internal affairs. The advisory came two days after the Lebanese government sent the UN Security Council a second request to consider alternative means for establishing the international tribunal to try suspects in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's murder and subsequent crimes.
"The Security Council should not get too involved in the Lebanese details, it should remain neutral if they want a stable Lebanon," Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hizbullah's number two, told the party's Al-Nour Radio. "But if they want a chaotic Lebanon, then what they are doing is leading toward the direction they want."
Qassem said establishing the court under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which would obviate the need for Parliament's approval, would lead to a confrontation with half of the Lebanese population.
"When we go to Chapter 7, it means we are no longer dealing with a criminal court but are in front of a different issue and all the other details would become meaningless because it would be about confronting a new reality," Qassem said.
"It won't be a matter of uncovering the killers of President Hariri."
He urged the pro-government March 14 Forces to hold "a Lebanese session" to discuss amending the draft law of the court, which would eventually lead to establishing the court through constitutional means.
"Any path other than this, there will be no value for any amendments and no meaning for any discussion that is taking place in the absence of the Lebanese themselves," Hizbullah's deputy said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that he hoped the "Lebanese government would take the necessary measures, constitutional, among themselves, through dialogue by promoting a national reconciliation."
Ban, who will visit Syria later this month, has also said he hopes to persuade Syrian officials to change their position on the international court. A UN investigation has implicated senior Syrian officials in the assassination of Hariri. Damascus denies any involvement.
Ban's legal adviser, Nicola Michel, is scheduled to arrive to Beirut on Sunday, according to the press office of Premier Fouad Siniora. Ban and Siniora discussed during a telephone call the details of Michel's visits.
A Russian envoy, Alexander Sultanov, is due in Beirut on Monday. He will also visit Damascus on Tuesday to discuss the international court and Russia's position.
Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament, said on Wednesday that the "forceful shortsighted approach" of the Hizbullah-led opposition would lead to the creation of the tribunal under Chapter 7.
Local newspapers said Friday that the UN and the Lebanese government are still examining possibilities for establishing the international tribunal through Lebanese constitutional measures.
According to An-Nahar daily, both the UN and Lebanese Cabinet welcomed a French suggestion to send Ban's legal adviser to Beirut to re-explain the system of the court and offer a new opportunity for solving the impasse locally.
The newspaper, quoting unidentified sources close to the prime minister, said that Siniora's appeal to the UN in relation to the international court did not suggest a specific method for its creation and particularly did not suggest resorting to Chapter 7 of the UN charter.
The sources said that the government would pursue every opportunity to set up the court through Lebanese constitutional means.
Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch told An-Nahar in comments published Friday that if the Lebanese Parliament does not ratify the tribunal, the United States and other members of the UN Security Council would consider legal options to set up the court.
Welch said "foreign interference" had prevented the formation of the tribunal.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal movement is part of the opposition, is refusing to call for a Parliament session to set up the court.
Welch said that he had discussed discord among Christians in Lebanon with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir in a telephone conversation Wednesday. "I expressed my concern over lack of unity" between them, Welch said.
He also said that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Damascus has not led to changes in Syria's behavior in Lebanon.
Pelosi's trip last week stirred controversy, with President George W. Bush and others claiming the speaker had undermined the US government's hard line on Damascus.
Hizbullah says UN role could create 'chaotic Lebanon'
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