Lebanese parliament leader Saad Hariri urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon here Tuesday to accelerate efforts to set up the UN-backed tribunal that is to prosecute those responsible for the murder of his father and ex-premier. The court, which is to be based in the Netherlands, will try suspects in the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, a popular five-time prime minister who was killed along with 22 others in a massive explosion on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005.The slain ex-premier's son also called for international help to end the wave of assassinations of anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians.
"What is happening in Lebanon today is a destabilizing coup on Lebanon," he said, referring to the political assassinations that have claimed the life of his father and several other anti-Syrian politicians. "This is not acceptable ...The international community should move on those who commit these crimes in a very swift way. We asked for a harder position from the United Nations in the face of those assassinations."
US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad meanwhile said he planned to discuss with Hariri specific steps the UN might take to protect Lebanese members of parliament who feel threatened. He said he would also discuss with Hariri how to generate financial support to make the international tribunal operational "as soon as possible."
"We need to move at a faster pace," Khalilzad noted.
An initial UN inquiry implicated Damascus and its allies in Lebanon, where four pro-Syrian security chiefs were arrested in late 2005. But Syria has vehemently denied any involvement.
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Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who also met with Hariri, said Moscow would do its utmost to help ensure that the presidential election process is "be completed in a timely and amicable manner."