RP backs UNSC resolution on probe of Lebanon PM assassination

The Philippines voted with 14 other member-countries of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) yesterday to unanimously adopt a resolution demanding full Syrian cooperation with the UN probe into the slaying of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

The Philippines urged Syria to fully comply with the mandates of Resolution 1636, sponsored by permanent members the United States, United Kingdom and France which Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said "reinforced the notion that political assassination is an act of terrorism."

Explaining the country’s vote during an open meeting of the Security Council on Syria and Lebanon at the UN Headquarters in New York, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said "history has taught us the tragic lesson that political assassinations can lead to strife, conflict and war."

"Today, the Security Council not only cast a vote for peace and justice, but also struck a blow against those who use political assassination to sow fear and terror," Romulo said.

The UNSC, which the Philippines headed last September, is the UN’s most powerful body.

The council’s main functions are to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the UN Charter, probe any dispute or situation that might lead to international friction and recommend what action should be taken to deal with a threat to peace or an act of aggression.

The council can call on its 15 members to take military action against an aggressor or to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression.

To be adopted, a resolution of the council on substantive matters has to muster at least nine of the council’s 15 votes, and no veto from its five permanent members. The right of veto does not apply to procedural matters.

The UNSC’s five permanent and veto-wielding members are Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.

Its 10 rotating non-permanent members, representing the world’s various geographic regions and each serving a two-year term, are currently Algeria, Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Denmark, Greece, Japan, Philippines, Romania and Tanzania.

Algeria, Benin, Brazil, Romania and the Philippines are due to rotate out at the end of the year to be replaced by five new members.

Romanian ambassador Mihnea Motoc presides over the council for the month of October and his Russian counterpart Andrei Denisov was set to take over from yesterday.

The Syrian situation

During the open meeting at the UN in New York, Manila raised concerns over the UN report on Syrian authorities who have cooperated only in form but not in substance.

Romulo also expressed concern over the report of the UN’s Mehlis Commission that several Syrian officials have tried to give false or inaccurate information to mislead the commission.

Nonetheless, the Philippines welcomed Syria’s recent statement regarding its intention now to cooperate with the commission, and expects the Syrian government to implement in full the commitments it is now making.

Romulo added that questions have been raised over the complicity of Syrian officials, which he stressed must be answered.

"When all the answers are in and when the investigation is completed, it is the Government of Lebanon that will pursue further legal action under its criminal justice system," Romulo said.

The secretary stressed it is the Lebanese government that will pursue further legal action under its criminal justice when all questions on the investigation are answered and completed.

"The assassination of Mr. Hariri remains essentially a domestic concern of Lebanon. It can only be effectively redressed by and within Lebanon," Romulo said.

"The international community, however, must lend all possible material assistance, as well as political and moral support, for the Lebanese Government and people," he added.

Romulo said the extension of the mandate of the commission until December 2005 is a good and powerful message because "it is a practical step towards ensuring international awareness and support for all efforts to see that justice is done."

Manila also acknowledged the resolution sponsors’ openness in accommodating the country’s concerns on key operative paragraphs in Resolution 1636.

Romulo said the Philippines eagerly awaits the commission’s periodic reports. He also expressed optimism that it will be able to complete its work before its mandate expires on Dec. 15.

According to Romulo, the Mehlis investigation points to a massive conspiracy and it lays a solid foundation for further criminal investigation to identify, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of the crime.

"The Mehlis Commission must be allowed to continue with its work. The investigation had made much headway because of the cooperation of Lebanon," he said.

He also thanked Lebanon for the full assistance and cooperation extended to the Commission in the discharge of its mandate.

Syria earlier said the UN report accusing Damascus of approving the assassination of Hariri was false, unprofessional and politicized.

Lebanese politicians opposed to Syria said the UN report, which did not directly implicate embattled President Bashar Assad, was a clear condemnation of the joint Syrian-Lebanese security apparatus that controlled the country at the time of Hariri’s assassination last May 14.

Hariri had quarreled with the country’s Syrian overlords and eventually resigned in October 2004, a month after a decision to change Lebanon’s law and extend the term of President Emile Lahoud.

The report of the UN, submitted to the UN Security Council last month implicated top Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials in the Feb. 14 assassination of Hariri in a massive bombing in Beirut that also killed 20 others.

The US government has called on Syria to stop interfering in Lebanon and refrain from supporting Palestine militant groups opposed to US Middle East peace efforts. — Pia Lee-Brago, AFP