Lebanon braced for Hariri report

Thursday, Oct 20, 2005

The Lebanese army on Thursday stepped up security in Beirut as the country braced for the release of a UN report into the February assassination of a former prime minister.

Detlev Mehlis, the German prosecutor leading the 10-week probe into the explosion that killed Rafiq Hariri, one of the country's most popular politicians, on Thursday delivered his findings to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general. The Lebanese government is due to receive a copy of the report on Friday.

Tensions ran high in Syria, too, where there are fears the report will finger Damascus, which controlled Lebanese security at the time of the killing, and provoke UN measures that would deepen the country's isolation.

US and Lebanese officials are expecting the Mehlis report to implicate Syrian officials, in addition to four Lebanese generals who headed Lebanese security agencies and are already under arrest in Beirut.

Some European and Arab diplomats, however, expect the report to say that the Syrian role requires further investigation.

If Syrian officials were directly implicated, a French-backed UN draft resolution to be discussed in New York on Tuesday would impose sanctions on individuals named. Otherwise, the resolution would demand more Syrian co-operation with the UN team.

Lebanon has been in crisis since the Hariri murder, with continuing political assassinations of anti-Syrian figures and bomb explosions, apparently designed to warn people against co-operating with the UN probe.

Lebanese officials fear Syria's allies in Lebanon could provoke more violence if Damascus is accused of involvement in the Hariri killing.

Anti-Syrian politicians in Beirut are hoping the Mehlis report will also serve to undermine the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, who has clung to power despite the arrest of the four generals, including one of his closest aides.

The UN resolution based on the Mehlis report could be followed by other Security Council action the following week, after Council members review a separate report examining implementation of UN resolution 1559.

This UN decision was passed last year and demanded the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, the respect of Lebanese sovereignty, and the disarmament of militias. Officials in Beirut say weapons recently sent to Palestinian camps in Lebanon might have come from Syria, an indication of continuing interference.

Bashar al-Assad, Syrian president, has insisted his regime is innocent but has said that anyone implicated in the Hariri murder would face severe punishment.

Political analysts say Mr Assad might co-operate with the result of the UN probe if it points to mid-ranking security officers but not to family members.

The two most senior figures in the regime, in addition to Mr Assad, are Maher, Mr Assad's brother and close aide, and his brother-in-law Asef Chawkat. Mr Chawkat was questioned by the UN team last month. UN requests to interview Maher al-Assad and the president himself were rejected.

Another Syrian official questioned by investigators was Ghazi Kanaan, the interior minister, who died in his office last week. The government said he had committed suicide.

This week, a Syrian who had provided information to the Mehlis probe was arrested in France.

Roula Khalaf in London and Ferry Beidermann in Beirut