U.N. votes for court on murder of Lebanon's Hariri

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - In a challenge to Syria, the U.N. Security Council voted on Wednesday to set up a special court to prosecute the killing two years ago of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

After months of deadlock between deeply divided Lebanese politicians over the plan, 10 council members supported a Western-sponsored resolution to set up the tribunal and five abstained. There were no votes against.

The murder of Hariri and 22 others in a Beirut bomb blast in February 2005 convulsed Lebanon and forced Syria, held responsible by pro-government Lebanese politicians, to withdraw troops it had kept since the 1970s in its smaller neighbor.

Syria, which has denied responsibility, said the Security Council move violated Lebanese sovereignty and could plunge the country into further instability.

In pushing through the measure, Western powers are gambling that the boost to Lebanese government authority and to the rule of law will outweigh any violent reaction in Lebanon, whose government is at loggerheads with a Hezbollah-led opposition.

"By adopting this resolution, the council has demonstrated its commitment to the principle that there shall be no impunity for political assassinations in Lebanon or elsewhere," said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.

Britain's U.N. envoy, Emyr Jones Parry, told reporters the vote would "send the right political signal" to Lebanon, a country with a long history of political assassinations, many of which have gone unpunished.

But the countries that abstained -- Russia, China, Qatar, Indonesia and South Africa -- argued that the council was exceeding its authority and interfering in Lebanese affairs.

"It is not appropriate for the Security Council to impose such a tribunal on Lebanon," South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo told the council.

The move responds to a request from Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, but the country's parliament has not approved it because speaker Nabih Berri, an opposition leader who disputes the cabinet's legitimacy, has refused to convene the chamber.

TIES WITH SYRIA

Damascus has indicated it will not cooperate with the tribunal. A Syrian government statement on Wednesday said its position remained unchanged, warning that setting up the court "could cause the situation (in Lebanon) to become worse".

But Lebanese Culture Minister Tareq Mitri, who attended the Security Council vote, said no one should be able to force his people to "choose between their quest for justice and their right to security and stability."

In Beirut, Hariri's son Saad, leader of the parliamentary majority, called the U.N. move "a victory for oppressed Lebanon".

Khalilzad warned Syria on Tuesday it would face "increased pressure" if it did not cooperate.