US envoy: Assad refused to be interviewed (AP) Updated: 2005-10-27 09:34
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Wednesday that Syria's leader refused to
meet U.N. investigators probing the assassination of Lebanon's former prime
minister, but would be required to submit to questioning under a proposed new
U.N. resolution.
Bolton's comments were the first confirmation that the investigation led
by U.N. prosecutor Detlev Mehlis had tried to talk to President Bashar Assad
about the Feb. 14 car bomb in Beirut that killed Rafik Hariri and 20 others.
The Syrian president wasn't mentioned in Mehlis' report to the Security
Council last week, which implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials
in Hariri's assassination and accused Syria of not cooperating fully with the
investigation. But Mehlis told council members at a closed-door briefing Tuesday
that Assad refused to be interviewed, Bolton's spokesman Richard Grenell said.
The resolution introduced Tuesday by the United States, France and Britain
would require Syria to detain any Syrian official or civilian the U.N.
investigators might consider a suspect in Hariri's killing and allow the
individual to be questioned outside the country or without Syrian officials
present.
It would immediately freeze the assets and impose a travel ban on anyone the
commission identified as a possible suspect in the assassination, and if Syria
refuses to cooperate, the Security Council would consider "further measures,"
including economic sanctions.
Syrians walks infront of posters showing
President Bashar Assad and Cuban revolutionary leader Ernesto 'Che'
Guevara , left, in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday Oct.26,
2005.[AP] | When Bolton was asked whether the
detention provision would apply to Assad, he replied: "It absolutely includes
the president of Syria. No person is above the law."
"The president has the opportunity to talk to the media all the time and he's
still doing it. He should have a few minutes to talk to commissioner Mehlis,"
Bolton said.
The U.S. ambassador disclosed Assad's refusal to be questioned while
defending the tough draft resolution, which faces strong opposition from Russia,
China and Algeria.
The Security Council held closed-door consultations on the draft Wednesday.
In Beirut, judicial officials said two brothers — Ahmad Abdel-Al and Mahmoud
Abdel-Al, both members of the pro-Syrian Sunni Muslim fundamentalist group
Al-Ahbash — who were cited in the U.N. report had been detained. The officials
spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
give official statements.
They said Mahmoud Abdel-Al was detained in Beirut on Saturday at the
recommendation of U.N. investigators, who said he made "interesting" telephone
calls Feb. 14, including one to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, just before a
bomb killed Hariri. Lahoud's office has denied receiving such a call.
Mahmoud's brother, arrested earlier on weapons charges, was named by Mehlis
as a "key figure" who had extensive contacts with top Lebanese security
officials before and after the blast, and tried to hide information from
investigators..
Opposition to the resolution from Russia and China could spell serious
trouble because both countries have veto power in the Security Council.
But Bolton said he was encouraged by the initial response to the draft,
though he recognized the "turbulence" of some initial reactions.
"We're open to suggestions," he said. "But in terms of the purpose that we
have, of sending a strong and clear signal, that's not going to change."
"The Mehlis report says officials of the government of Syria made false
statements, that they have prevented access to material witnesses. ... President
Assad has refused to meet with Mehlis," Bolton said. "That's not cooperation."
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad said he hadn't heard Bolton's comments
but countered that Assad has "expressed on more than one occasion that those who
committed this crime, whether Syrians or not, are traitors and they have to be
put to justice."
He called the draft resolution "a U.S. agenda against Syria" and said he
expects key points to be disputed during the council's upcoming discussions.
"I'm sure Russia and others will not accept such an agenda because this is a
United States agenda," Mekdad said.
Without elaborating, China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said, "I'm sure the
co-sponsors will get our views and try to modify it. Otherwise, there will be a
split in the council."
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said while accompanying
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a trip to Israel, according to the Interfax,
Itar-Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies, that "Russia will be doing everything
necessary to prevent attempts to impose sanctions against Syria."
Bolton said he has no problem with the Russian statement because it says
"they don't favor sanctions against the Syrian government at this point" and the
resolution doesn't impose sanctions on the government.
Another problem for some countries is the draft resolution's mandate under
Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which is militarily enforceable. Several
countries, including the Philippines, have said they would prefer a Chapter VI
mandate which would not authorize military force.
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