• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Hariri's son hails UN report

Posted on: Saturday, 22 October 2005, 05:37 CDT

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - The son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri hailed on Saturday a U.N. investigation that implicated Syrian officials in his father's killing and called for an international court to punish the perpetrators.

"We in Lebanon ... the Hariri family accept the results of the report and the conclusions that the commission sets forth," Saad al-Hariri said in a televised statement from the Saudi city of Jeddah.

"We call on the international community to uphold its support for the international commission into the assassination of Mr Hariri to unearth the full truth and bring the perpetrators to justice in an international court. We are not seeking revenge, we are seeking justice."

Hariri and 20 others were killed on February 14 by a bomb in Beirut. The U.N. report said the decision to kill Hariri "could not have been taken without the approval of top-ranked Syrian security officials" colluding with counterparts in Lebanon.

Syrian officials dismissed the report as political and said the charges were false, but Hariri lauded it.

"The release of the report ... is a milestone in the search for the truth and seeking justice in Lebanon. This is a historic step for the people of Lebanon, for our region, and for the United Nations," said Hariri, who is also a parliamentarian.

"This is the first time in Lebanon and our region an investigation reaches results and points a finger at perpetrators. We hope this will act as a deterrence and stops the use of violence as a means to silence the other opinion in our region."

NO COMPROMISES ON JUSTICE

U.S. President George Bush described the report as "deeply disturbing." A Security Council session has already been planned for Tuesday and may ask Syria to cooperate with the investigation led by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, who released a 53-page report late on Thursday.

Hariri's son said although the U.N. investigation pointed the finger at Syrian officials, relations with the Syrian people would not be harmed.

"The involvement of a group of evil-doers in the terrorist crime will not overshadow the deep common history we have with the Syrian people who will remain as our brothers."

Hariri's son said he was encouraged by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's decision to extend the mandate of the investigation so it could continue its work.

"We will not allow the results of the investigation to be the subject of compromises and deals, domestic or foreign," he added.

"Rafik Hariri did not die in vain. As he served Lebanon in his life, he served Lebanon in his death, and now he is serving the cause of truth as the results of this investigation outlaws assassinations and hopefully ushers a new era of tolerance and democracy in the region."

Source: REUTERS

More News in this Category