In Lebanon, nothing is innocent. And when the foreign press starts focusing on one issue, it becomes an omen for the worse. Yesterday, the foreign press has expressed fears of a sectarian strife between Sunnis and Shiites as it is predicting that the tribunal is likely to indict Hizbullah members in the assassination of Prime Mnister Rafik Hariri even though no investigation report has indicated any possible involvement of Hizbullah.
BEIRUT – No one knows when an international court will issue its first indictments in the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, but Lebanese are already afraid it could spark a wave of violence between its Shiite and Sunni communities.
The Netherlands-based tribunal has kept silent on who it might charge in the 2005 slaying of Rafik Hariri. The fear in Lebanon is that it will accuse members of the powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer Bassem Mroue, Associated Press Writer –
Wed Aug 26, 4:43 am ET
After exhausting all the resources that can be used to wipe Hizbullah out of the Lebanese map, including a military conflict and highly-corrupt elections, it seems the tribunal would be ready to play a role in another attempt to reach the same political objective. Such a scenario would have disastrous consequences as it would happen at a very delicate timing in Lebanon where a caretaker government has limited prerogatives and cannot make major decisions.
The only hope remains that the tribunal not be used and abused, as it has been for the last four years. And the forthcoming days or months will tell if the tribunal is yet again to be used as a political tool rather than a judiciary instance whose mission is supposed to transcend politics and interests.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The Lost Truth
Suddenly the clock that counted the hours following the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri stopped ticking and vowing to unveil the truth. At the entrance of Hamra street, just facing the headquarters of BankMed, the Hariri-owned bank and just a couple hundred meters from the assassination site, stands a huge portrait of the late premier. Above it is the electronic clock that started counting the days on February 15, 2005, adorned by a blue sign reading “The Truth.” A few weeks ago, I noticed that the clock went black. No more days to count.
“The Truth”, a slogan chanted by all the Lebanese people after the assassination suddenly stopped having echoes, not only in Lebanon but also throughout the world. Although Hariri was not the only politician in the world to be so brutally assassinated- especially not in Lebanon where a president of the republic and a premier suffered the same fate during the war- he was the only one to have received international consensus on having an international tribunal investigate the case and bring the mastermind, the instigators, and the perpetrators to justice.
The form of the tribunal and its prerogatives nearly led the country into another civil war, until the tribunal was passed by the United Nations Security Council under Chapter 7 which deals with threats to international peace, allows for military enforcement and does not require the approval of the Lebanese parliament. As supporters of the slain premier danced and celebrated in the streets, Hariri’s son Saad called the event “a victory” the world has given to oppressed Lebanon.
Today is August 24, 2009, more than two years after the so-called “victory”. What happened to the tribunal? For two years following the assassination, the focal point of Lebanese politics was the tribunal. Two years later, the tribunal seems to be falling in the darkness of oblivion.
Under the Bush Administration, the media kept reporting that the investigation pointed the finger at Syria. Nothing wrong with this if this is the “truth”. Yet the investigation has so far failed to reach conclusive results; so we’re told. Parties that feared the investigation and the tribunal had become more political than judiciary were harshly criticized and even treated as murderers themselves. If the tribunal hasn’t become highly politicized, then why was the change of policy in the Middle East accompanied by a blackout on the tribunal?
On both accounts, the tribunal is highly politicized. If investigators did find conclusive results inculpating the Syrian regime, why haven’t they taken the necessary measures against it? And if they haven’t found reasons to inculpate the Syrian regime, why is this allegation brought up from time to time only to be used as a bargaining chip when needed?
Meanwhile in Lebanon, all the voices who, in the name of “the truth”, accused their political opponents of treachery and even murder have suddenly become astoundingly silent. Where is the “victory” Saad Hariri chanted? Where is “the truth for Lebanon”? Nobody seems to care to know, and nobody asks…
All one can think of is that somehow the truth got lost between politics and interests, so did its local and international advocates. But who knows, “the truth for Lebanon” controversy may appear when we least expect, to be used yet again for another regional deal... or war. Meanwhile, I guess we will still wonder who assassinated Rafik Hariri.
“The Truth”, a slogan chanted by all the Lebanese people after the assassination suddenly stopped having echoes, not only in Lebanon but also throughout the world. Although Hariri was not the only politician in the world to be so brutally assassinated- especially not in Lebanon where a president of the republic and a premier suffered the same fate during the war- he was the only one to have received international consensus on having an international tribunal investigate the case and bring the mastermind, the instigators, and the perpetrators to justice.
The form of the tribunal and its prerogatives nearly led the country into another civil war, until the tribunal was passed by the United Nations Security Council under Chapter 7 which deals with threats to international peace, allows for military enforcement and does not require the approval of the Lebanese parliament. As supporters of the slain premier danced and celebrated in the streets, Hariri’s son Saad called the event “a victory” the world has given to oppressed Lebanon.
Today is August 24, 2009, more than two years after the so-called “victory”. What happened to the tribunal? For two years following the assassination, the focal point of Lebanese politics was the tribunal. Two years later, the tribunal seems to be falling in the darkness of oblivion.
Under the Bush Administration, the media kept reporting that the investigation pointed the finger at Syria. Nothing wrong with this if this is the “truth”. Yet the investigation has so far failed to reach conclusive results; so we’re told. Parties that feared the investigation and the tribunal had become more political than judiciary were harshly criticized and even treated as murderers themselves. If the tribunal hasn’t become highly politicized, then why was the change of policy in the Middle East accompanied by a blackout on the tribunal?
On both accounts, the tribunal is highly politicized. If investigators did find conclusive results inculpating the Syrian regime, why haven’t they taken the necessary measures against it? And if they haven’t found reasons to inculpate the Syrian regime, why is this allegation brought up from time to time only to be used as a bargaining chip when needed?
Meanwhile in Lebanon, all the voices who, in the name of “the truth”, accused their political opponents of treachery and even murder have suddenly become astoundingly silent. Where is the “victory” Saad Hariri chanted? Where is “the truth for Lebanon”? Nobody seems to care to know, and nobody asks…
All one can think of is that somehow the truth got lost between politics and interests, so did its local and international advocates. But who knows, “the truth for Lebanon” controversy may appear when we least expect, to be used yet again for another regional deal... or war. Meanwhile, I guess we will still wonder who assassinated Rafik Hariri.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
