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UN tribunal criticizes Hezbollah leader’s boycott call

30 October 2010 01:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The UN tribunal investigating the killing of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, says it expects full co-operation from the government, APA reports quoting BBC.
A spokeswoman told the BBC the leader of the Shia Islamist group, Hezbollah, was attempting to obstruct its work.
She was reacting to an appeal from Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday for all Lebanese to boycott the inquiry.
Earlier this week, two UN investigators were attacked by a crowd in a Hezbollah-controlled suburb of Beirut.
In July, Sheikh Nasrallah dismissed the tribunal as an "Israeli project" after saying he had received word that it might soon indict Hezbollah members.
He later claimed that he had evidence of Israeli involvement, including footage from Israeli spy planes of routes used by Hariri.
UN investigators initially implicated Syrian and Lebanese security agencies in the 2005 assassination, which provoked such outcry that Syria was forced to end its 29-year military presence in its neighbour.
’National consensus’
In a speech, Sheikh Nasrallah said it was scandalous that investigators from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) had visited a gynaecology clinic used by the wives and daughters of Hezbollah leaders on Wednesday.
The investigators were later attacked by a crowd of women.
"I call on every Lebanese official and every citizen to boycott these investigators and not to co-operate with them," he said. "All the information and data and addresses is sent to Israel."
He also warned that any co-operation would be seen as "an aggression against the resistance" - a reference to its battle against Israel.
On Friday, STL spokeswoman Nada Abdul Samad told the BBC that prosecutors expected the full co-operation of all members of Lebanon’s national unity government, which includes Hezbollah and its allies.
Any call to boycott its work was an attempt to obstruct justice, she said.
The office of Prime Minister Saad Hariri - the son of Rafik Hariri - later reiterated that his 14 March Alliance fully supported the investigation.
"The bloc emphasises its adherence to the tribunal, which has received consensus among the Lebanese as a form of protection of political pluralism," a statement said.
However, there was no mention of the government’s position.
On Thursday, the UN special envoy warned that Lebanon was in a "hyper-dangerous situation", and that if destabilised it would have "rippling effects across the region".
"This is the most critical issue of international peace and security today," Terje Roed-Larsen said, adding that all parties in the Middle East had to "stop all irresponsible and reckless rhetoric".