AMERICAN LEBANESE COORDINATION COUNCIL

A concussion bomb exploded near Mar Mikhael Church in Beirut’s Shiyyah district just as news of the court’s creation was announced around 11 p.m.

The 15-member council adopted a legally binding resolution that sets June 10 as the date for the entry into force of a 2006 agreement between the United Nations and the Beirut government to establish the court.

Ten countries voted in favor, with veto-wielding members Russia and China as well as South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar — three non-permanent members — abstaining.

Hariri and 22 other people were killed in a massive bomb blast in February 2005, widely blamed on Syria, which was then forced to end nearly 30 years of military and political domination in Lebanon.

An initial U.N. inquiry into the Hariri slaying implicated Damascus, which has denied any involvement.

The vote comes at a time of high tensions in Lebanon, exacerbated by a deadly standoff between the army and an Al-Qaida-inspired Islamist militia, and a spate of bomb attacks in and around the capital Beirut.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry told reporters the aim of the resolution was to “send the right political signal in Lebanon that there cannot be impunity and that the U.N. stands behind those people who want to see justice.”

The resolution was sponsored by the United States, Britain, France, Belgium, Slovakia and Italy, and introduced at the request of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora.

It came after U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon reported that rival Lebanese parties had failed to agree on ratifying the 2006 accord.

The Hizbullah-led opposition objects to the way the Saniora government has handled plans to create the court under U.N. auspices and has so far blocked all moves to set up the court.

The government in turn accuses allies of Syria of bowing to pressure from Damascus to try to prevent the creation of the tribunal.

Jones Parry said while a domestic solution would have been the “preferred route,” the Security Council, in view of the deadlock, needed “to take its responsibility so that there can be a resolution.”

Russia, a veto-wielding council member and a close ally of Syria, South Africa and Qatar had all voiced reservations to the parts of the text and had sought more time for the rival Lebanese parties to find a home-grown solution.

To mollify them, the sponsors agreed to set June 10 as the deadline for the entry into force of the tribunal convention to give the Lebanese factions a last chance to find common ground.

The resolution states that “the tribunal shall commence functioning on a date to be determined by the secretary general in consultation with the government of Lebanon, taking into account the progress of the work” of the U.N. panel probing the Hariri murder.

In any case, the tribunal is not likely to be up and running until several months after the treaty enters into force, diplomats said.

The U.N.-Lebanon deal envisages a mixed tribunal composed of two chambers, a trial court composed of three judges — one of them Lebanese alongside two foreigners — and an appeals court with five judges, including two Lebanese.

For reasons of security, administrative efficiency and fairness, the tribunal would be located outside Lebanon. Cyprus, Italy and the Netherlands have been mooted as possible sites, diplomats said.(AFP-Naharnet)

The “very dangerous terrorist,” according to the source, had crossed into Lebanon “illegally” overland from neighboring Syria over the weekend to follow up “coordination with Fatah al-Islam terrorists” besieged in the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared.

The suspect, a national of an oil-rich Arab country, used “two forged Lebanese identity cards, one identified him as Hagop and the second identified him as Ahmed Merie,” the source said.

“He also had 12 forged travel documents, including British, Arab and Latin American passports,” added the source who asked not to be identified.

The suspect, according to the source, had “sold out al-Qaida in favor of cooperation with Syrian intelligence after he was offered safe haven in Syria.”

Last week, according to the source, the suspect “turned in to the Syrian intelligence a ranking Saudi member of al-Qaida known as Abu Talha. He did the Syrians a major favor that could help them boost their tense relations with the Americans.”

Abu Talha, whose real name is not known, is on the U.S. list of most wanted terrorists, according to the source.

After turning in Abu Talha, the Syrian intelligence command “sent the suspect to Lebanon to re-organize Fatah al-Islam and other Syrian-sponsored terrorists and sponsor a spate of attacks on a variety of targets in Lebanon aimed at destabilizing the situation,” the source added.

“The Syrians want to destabilize Lebanon and tell the Americans: ‘We can control the situation like we arrested Abu Talha. Strike a deal with us and Lebanon would be under control’,” the source said.

He said Fatah al-Islam terrorists arrested in north Lebanon “told investigators of the suspect’s moves and revealed important information which led to his arrest.”

He disclosed that within the framework of the crackdown of Fatah al-Islam terrorists police officers had “confiscated in several hideouts six scanning machines used to forge passports, identity cards and other documents.”

“Such forgeries are almost perfect and the fake documents, especially passports, can be discovered only by the respective nations’ authorities. So these terrorists do not use them in the nations of issue,” he explained.

Upon raiding the suspect’s hotel suite, police officers confiscated “maps, pictures and a list of selected targets for terrorist attacks in Lebanon,” the source told Naharnet.

He said anti-terrorism police officers also confiscated “a large number of compact discs and a personal computer providing a wealth of information on terrorists’ activities in Lebanon and the region.”

The source explained that al-Qaida is “no more a solid-structure network. Many of its ranking members have joined several intelligence agencies and are used to infiltrate, control and direct local Qaida-inspired fanatics to carry out attacks that serve the interests of these intelligence agencies.”

Fatah al-Islam, the source added, “is one of such local groups. Its members are inspired by al-Qaida ideology, but its attacks are directed by Syrian intelligence officers.”

Police have arrested at least 90 people on charges of affiliation with Fatah al-Islam and were under interrogation.

The source said some of them have provided “priceless information related to terrorist activity.”

In a related development, the source said police also arrested “two Syrian nationals” that had with them “dozens of photographs of Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul Aziz Khoja.”

“They had pictures of him at his apartment’s balcony, at the entrance to the building and in so many other locations. It appears they were monitoring his moves in preparation for an attack on him,” the source added without further elaboration.

Security has been beefed up at major Lebanese cities and towns following outbreak of the clashes with Fatah al-Islam militants in the northern town of Tripoli 11 days ago and the spate of bombings that followed.

The group, headed by Palestinian-Jordanian Shaker Absi, has vowed to attack a variety of targets throughout Lebanon if the army maintained the siege of its militants at Nahr al-Bared camp.(An Nahar photo shows the hotel where the terrorist mastermind was busted)

The suspects were among nearly 100 people rounded up by security agencies for possible affiliation with Fatah al-Islam.

The suspects were charged with “forming an armed gang with the intent of committing crimes against the population and property, targeting state authority, attacking public civilian and military institutions and carrying out terrorist attacks.”

Fahd is to interrogate later in the day another batch of suspects, a judicial source said.

The suspects will appoint lawyers to defend them at the military tribunal, which handles attacks on state security. No date has been set for the hearing.

At least 31 Lebanese soldiers have been killed in the ongoing clashes with Fatah al-Islam in north Lebanon.

Lebanese security agents arrested Tuesday a terrorist mastermind in Beirut’s Ashrafiyeh district and confiscated documents including lists of potential targets.

According to the study, Iraq is the least peaceful and Lebanon is 8th from the bottom and ranked 114th.

The United States fell to rank 96 while Russia occupied 118, or the fifth bottom-up.

The index had Japan near the top, while Israel was worst than trouble-ridden Lebanon.

“This is a wake-up call for leaders around the globe,” said Steve Killelea, who commissioned the study from the Economist Intelligence Unit, which is linked to the news weekly The Economist.

“Countries like Japan and Germany can give hope and optimism to countries further down the Index that there can be light at the end of what may seem at the moment like a very dark tunnel,” he added.

Overall the study found that small, stable countries which are part of regional blocs such as the 27-nation European Union are most likely to be more peaceful. Income and education are crucial in promoting peace, it said.

“I believe there is a link between the peacefulness and the wealth of nations and therefore business has a key role to play in peace,” said Killelea.(AFP-Naharnet)

Here are the top 10 and bottom 10 countries in the index:

TOP 10
1. Norway
2. New Zealand
3. Denmark
4. Ireland
5. Japan
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Canada
9. Portugal
10. Austria

BOTTOM 10
112. Angola
113. Ivory Coast
114. Lebanon
115. Pakistan
116. Colombia
117. Nigeria
118. Russia
119. Israel
120. Sudan
121. Iraq

Hariri also called on supporters of the majority to “light candles and raise Lebanese flags” after endorsement of the resolution.

He urged “calm and cautious behavior” to avoid an escalation of the security situation “which only serves the interests of parties that oppose the tribunal,” Hariri said.

He was referring to Syria and its Lebanese allies in the Hizbullah-led opposition.

Syria has been charged with responsibility for the Hariri murder and a spate of assassinations related to it.

The Damascus regime, however, has denied the charge.

Hariri, in an interview with An Nahar’s Youth supplement, said the Fatah al-Islam terrorist network which is fighting the Lebanese army in north Lebanon was set up by Syrian President Bashar Assad to torpedo efforts aimed at creating the International Tribunal and trying suspects in the 2005 murder and related crimes.

Syria has said it would not surrender any suspect to the international tribunal.

Meanwhile, western powers that back the majority Lebanese government of Premier Fouad Saniora said they planned to push for a Security Council vote Wednesday on their binding draft resolution to set up the tribunal.

“The sponsors have decided to move forward …and go for a vote tomorrow,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad, who chairs the 15-member council this month, told reporters after closed-door consultations on the issue Tuesday.

He said there were “sufficient votes to move forward” for a vote Wednesday afternoon.

The amended draft circulated late Friday and also co-sponsored by Belgium, Slovakia and Italy, sets June 10 as the date for the creation of the court unless rival Lebanese factions reach their own deal first, which would allow the treaty to come into force sooner.

It was introduced at the request of Saniora and after U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon reported that the rival Lebanese parties were unable to reach agreement on parliamentary ratification of the tribunal deal.

The aim, the sponsors stress, is to ensure that there be no impunity for those responsible for the Hariri slaying and to deter such crimes in the future.

Hariri and 22 other people were killed in a massive bomb blast in February 2005, widely blamed on Syria, which was then forced to end nearly 30 years of military and political domination in Lebanon.

An initial U.N. inquiry into the Hariri slaying implicated Damascus, which has denied any involvement.

Russia, a veto-wielding council member and a close ally of Syria, however voiced reservations to the draft’s reference to Chapter Seven of the U.N. Charter, which is invoked in cases of threats to international peace and security.

“We believe that there are better legal ways to do it (establish the court), which would avoid a number of serious legal and possibly political repercussions,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters.

“The U.S. view is that the reference to Chapter Seven is necessary,” Khalilzad retorted. “The risks of not moving forward are greater.”

The sponsors said they were insisting on invoking the chapter to send “the clearest signal” to the Lebanese parties that the text is absolutely legally binding and that the creation of the tribunal cannot therefore be challenged.

“We have introduced amendments to the text which is improved,” French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said, stressing that additional minor changes were still possible to make the draft “even clearer”.

He cited as an example the so-called “sunrise clause” that delays until June 10 implementation of the tribunal resolution to satisfy those council members who pressed for a grace period to allow the Lebanese rival parties to reach an internal agreement.

The draft gives the Lebanese parties “a last chance to find a solution,” de La Sabliere said.

The Lebanon-U.N. deal envisages a mixed tribunal composed of two chambers, a trial court composed of three judges — one of them Lebanese alongside two foreigners — and an appeals court with five judges, including two Lebanese.(Naharnet-AFP)

Security Sources told Naharnet on Monday that Haj Ahmad was driving the vehicle at high speed, and refused to slow down upon instructions from soldiers manning a checkpoint near the airport.

“He smashed the obstacles and drove past the checkpoint waving his middle finger at soldiers,” one source told Naharnet.

The troops fired “warning shots, and when the driver failed to pull over they opened fire at the car. Hussein Karaki, a Lebanese citizen who was sitting next to the driver, was killed and Haj Ahmad was seriously wounded,” the source added.
Haj Ahmad later died in the hospital, said the sources, adding that Noureddine, a passer-by who was caught in the shooting, also died from his wounds shortly afterwards.

The sources said Haj Ahmed did not stop at the checkpoint apparently because he had been convicted by a Lebanese court on forgery charges.

They noted that non-Lebanese are banned by law from driving taxi cabs “which raises questions as why Haj Ahmad, a Syrian, was driving a commuting vehicle owned by a Lebanese citizen.”

Registration documents show the car, a white Mercedes Benz, is owned by Lebanese citizen Ali Mohammed Fares who would be interrogated to find out why his vehicle was being used by a foreigner, the source told Naharnet.

The sources said the car was carrying two passengers, in addition to the Syrian driver. They said only one traveler obeyed orders to step out of the vehicle before Haj Ahmed and Karaki sped away.

They said the passenger who got out of the car was detained for questioning.

TV footage showed the car, with its front damaged, resting on a ramp in the middle of the road about 200 meters from the terminal building.

Troops manned the sidewalk checking IDs, but the road to and from the country’s only international airport remained open.

Later Monday, an assailant tossed a concussion grenade at a municipal building containing a prison in the eastern city of Zahle, causing panic but no injuries, police officials said.

On Sunday evening, five people, including three servicemen, were wounded when unknown assailants tossed a hand grenade from a speeding car off Beirut’s Barbir Bridge, falling near an army checkpoint.

Lebanese troops and police officers have erected hundreds of checkpoints in Beirut and other cities to tighten security following what appears to be a series of bomb blasts aimed at destabilizing Lebanon.

Fatah al-Islam, a terrorist faction fighting the Lebanese army in the north, has vowed to strike at other areas.

Lebanese authorities say Fatah al-Islam is a Syrian-sponsored terrorist organization. Syria denies the claim.

It said several Fatah al-Islam fighters were injured in the clash which broke out at 7:30 a.m.
Army troops deployed around Nahr al-Bared fired four shells toward the northern entrance to the camp where the Islamists are besieged. The four-point plan presented by the Palestinian factions to the Lebanese government aimed at a peaceful resolution to the camp fight, Abu Imad Rifai, a representative of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, told the Associated Press on Sunday.

The plan calls for a cease-fire, the creation of a Palestinian security force to maintain law and order in the camp, the barring of other armed groups in the camp and the creation of “a mechanism for the departure” of Fatah al-Islam from the camp, Rifai said.

There was no immediate reaction from the government to the plan, which falls short of its demands for the handover of the militants. Rifai said the government found “some positive elements” in the plan but that details on how to deal with the departure of the fighters had to be worked out. “A final plan will be presented to the government in the next few days,” he said.

It is not known where the militants would go. Syria is one option – Fatah al-Islam’s leader Shaker Absi spent years in the country, part of them in prison, before arriving in Nahr al-Bared last year. That has raised accusations among Lebanese security forces that Damascus is using the group to stir up trouble in Lebanon, and they may be reluctant to allow Fatah al-Islam to return there.

Damascus denies the accusations and says Absi and other Fatah al-Islam leaders are wanted in Syria for suspected terrorist activities. Absi is also wanted in Jordan, where he has been sentenced to death in absentia for involvement in the 2002 killing of an American diplomat in Amman.

But Rifai insisted that “a political solution is the only option.”

“The repercussions of a military solution are much more serious than a political solution,” Rifai said, in a clear warning that a military assault on Nahr al-Bared would trigger violence in Lebanon’s 11 other Palestinian refugee camps.

Absi insisted his fighters would not surrender.

“We wish to die for the sake of God,” Absi said in a video shown on Al-Jazeera television on Saturday. “Sunni people are the spearhead against the Zionist Americans.”

Absi, a Palestinian, has said he is inspired by Osama bin Laden and has been linked to al-Qaida in Iraq. Mainstream Palestinian factions have distanced themselves from him.

The Lebanese government was in a bind over its campaign to uproot Fatah al-Islam militants barricaded inside Nahr al-Bared. An attack to crush the fighters could be bloody — for both troops and the thousands of Palestinian civilians still trapped inside.

The military demands the fighters be handed over for prosecution for attacking Lebanese troops last week.

Despite sporadic exchanges of gunfire, a fragile truce has held at the camp in northern Lebanon for five days, with hundreds of Lebanese troops surrounding the camp and building up their forces to prepare for an attack.

The truce followed three days of heavy fighting at the camp in which 20 civilians, 30 Lebanese soldiers and up to 60 militants were killed.(AP-Naharnet)

The council is scheduled to discuss the new draft on Tuesday, and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the current council president, said he expects a vote in the following days.

Premier Fouad Saniora asked the U.N. Security Council earlier this month to take binding action to establish the tribunal. He cited the refusal of Speaker Nabih Berri to convene a session to ratify the statutes to create the court that have already been approved by the Lebanese government and the United Nations.

The original draft resolution called for the Security Council to create a tribunal outside Lebanon with a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which deals with threats to international peace and can be militarily enforced.

At a council meeting on Friday where the three co-sponsors — the United States, Britain and France — formally introduced the draft, Russia and Qatar said they opposed putting the tribunal under Chapter 7.

In an attempt to address their concerns, the revised draft circulated Friday night and obtained by The Associated Press leaves only part of the resolution under Chapter 7 — the provisions on the grace period until June 10 and the entry into force, on the location of the tribunal, and on its financing.

The provisions on putting the tribunal into operation would not be under Chapter 7.

The revised draft states that “the special tribunal shall commence functioning on a date to be determined by the secretary-general in consultation with the government of Lebanon, taking into account the progress of the work of the International Independent Investigation Commission,” which is probing Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination.

It asks the secretary-general, “when appropriate” and in coordination with the Lebanese government, to take the necessary measures to establish the tribunal “in a timely manner.”

The mandate of the investigation commission, led by Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz, has been extended until June 2008. It is probing the Hariri murder and assisting in 16 other cases.

Whether the revisions will satisfy Russia, Qatar and others remains to be seen.

In order to be adopted, the resolution needs at least nine “yes” votes in the 15-member council and no veto by a permanent member — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France.

Council diplomats said they don’t expect a veto, but they do expect at least five abstentions — Russia, China, Qatar, Indonesia and South Africa.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin opposed any reference to Chapter 7, stressing that all Security Council resolutions are legally binding and “on legal grounds it’s very vulnerable to refer to Chapter 7 in this resolution.”

Khalilzad said political assassinations and the Hariri case have been dealt with in past council resolutions as threats to international peace and security — and therefore a reference is needed to Chapter 7.

Churkin also proposed a grace period “in the expectation that before that period of time ends, they will be able to ratify it in Lebanon.”

Qatar’s U.N. Ambassador Nassir al-Nasser also called for additional time, saying efforts are under way — including by his government — “to talk to all Lebanese parties to convince them so we can create consensus on establishing this court.”

But France’s U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said the council needs to act now.

“We should not be intimidated by what is happening today in Lebanon,” he said.

Having the tribunal established now is important because it will help the inquiry commission do its work, because of the council’s commitment to justice, and because it could take a year before the tribunal starts operating, de La Sabliere said.(AP-Naharnet)