By Tom Perry
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s parliament speaker said on Thursday the U.N. Security Council had ignored the country’s constitution in voting to set up a tribunal for suspects in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close Syria ally, said the Security Council had also ignored a need for Lebanese consensus on the court, which the Council on Wednesday voted to set up in a move forecast to cause more instability in Lebanon.
“You have picked internationalization instead of the state,” Berri, a leading member of the opposition, said in a brief statement.
The tribunal has been at the heart of a deep political split between Lebanese politicians allied to Damascus and others who see it as a means to curb Syrian influence in Lebanon.
Berri had refused to call parliament to vote on U.N. plans for the court because he contests the legitimacy of the Beirut government, which is controlled by an anti-Syrian coalition and backed by Western states.
The governing coalition, including Saad al-Hariri, son and political heir of the former premier, had made establishment of the tribunal a priority and welcomed the Security Council vote as a victory for Lebanon.
Hariri and his allies accuse Syria of orchestrating the February 14, 2005 bombing which killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut. They also say Damascus was behind a string of other attacks on anti-Syrian figures. Syria rejects the accusations.
Continued… Reuters
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