Lebanon made public Wednesday a request for the U.N. to extend until mid-December the investigation being conducted by German judge Detlev Mehlis into the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rakik Hariri. Prime Minister Fuad Siniora requested the extension in a letter sent to Secretary-General Kofi Annan last Friday. But on Monday Annan told reporters no serious discussion had taken place on the request. Mehlis is scheduled to submit a technical report on his investigation on Friday to Annan and the U.N. Security Council, which authorized his probe in Lebanon. His mandate expires next week. On Monday, Annan said he intended to keep politics out of the investigation and would decide on the extension if Mehlis would ask for it. Meanwhile a source close to the Hariri family said Wednesday that suspects named in the United Nation probe could face an international trial, "Around 20 names will appear in the report - some are well known Lebanese and others are Syrian names..." Analysts in Beirut say the presidents of Syria and Lebanon could be fighting for political survival if, as many expect, the inquiry blames Syrian and pro-Syrian Lebanese officials for Hariri's killing.
The Melhis report is one of two reports concerning Lebanon to be delivered to the U.N. this week. U.N. Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen was due Wednesday to deliver a report on the progress of implementing U.N. Resolution 1559 which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah and Palestinian fighters in the country.