Official: Assad refuses to meet with UN Hariri commission

By News Agencies

Syrian President Bashar Assad will not respond to a request to meet with the United Nations commission into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a high-ranking Syrian official said Monday.

Ahmed Haj Ali, an official with Syria's ruling Baath party and advisor to the country's Information Ministry, told DPA that no meeting with Assad would take place that implied a "premediated intention" by the Syrian leader in regard to the Hariri killing.

"There is no law that could respond to such request as President Assad is immune according to international law," Haj Ali said, adding that there would be new political and diplomatic activity from Syria to deal with the request.

Nasra Hassan, spokeswoman for the UN investigative team confirmed Monday that the UN investigators were seeking to meet with Assad, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Sharaa and former Vice President Abdel Halim Khadam.

More:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/665328.html

Everything is going according to plan for Bolton. :grr:

but what does this have to do with Bolton?

So they got the former vice president Abdel Halim Khaddam, a long time opponent of Bashar al-Assad, to accuse Assad directly of involvement in the killing of Hariri in an interview with the Arab satellite channel al-Arabia on December 31.
Today, the U.N. commission investigating the murder of Hariri asked to interview the Syrian president, obviously on the basis of Khaddam's al-Arabia interview. The questioning of a sitting head of state by a UN commission raises some interesting questions of legality and sovereignty. But I think that they never expected Assad to agree to be interviewed. And indeed, today he refused. Now Bolton can declare that Syria is "in material breach" of Security Council Resolution 1636, which demanded Syria cooperate fully with the UN probe, or face the threat of "further action".

Bolton knew exactly that this was coming, as I had explained in an earlier post:

"Bolton interview

In an interview with the Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat published on Thursday, Bolton said there had been no substantial change in Syria's attitude towards the commission.

He said Syria must improve its cooperation otherwise "the Security Council will be ready at the appropriate time to take other measures".

"I think this is just a matter of time," Bolton added. He said he expected the Security Council to discuss Syria early in 2006."

Thursday 29 December 2005
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/59E5C8ED-1D04-4A60-A30F-E051820854D6.htm

I found the remark surprising because the new UN investigator Serge Brammertz will begin his work only in mid-January, but Bolton certainly knew about the Khaddam interview in advance (perhaps he was even involved in the planning).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2016183#2016304

the security council in particular. both russia and china especially.

Will that then make you question as to why the UN is stirring up this hornets nest on behalf of the US? (or why the UN is carrying the can in Haiti as well and shooting poor people)

I mean, its not like important figures in regional conflicts haven't been assassinated before, and it's not like the UN to run around investigating them.

THe institution is best when it stays above the fray--mettling will only delegitmize it in the long run. (which is fine by me...it's broke and can't be fixed)

White House Supports Lebanon-Syria Probe
By BARRY SCHWEID
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 3, 2006; 3:37 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration urged U.N. investigators Tuesday to look into an allegation by a former Syrian vice president that President Bashir Assad had threatened former Lebanese President Rafik Hariri several months before Hariri was assassinated.
(...)

Referring to Khaddam's allegation, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "I think his remarks warrant further investigation by Mr. (Detlev) Mehlis." (...)

"I think that Mr. Haddam's remarks raise some deeply troubling issues as to what exactly was going on during the period in time in question," McCormack said.

"They raise serious questions about who in the Syrian government may have been involved in the assassination," he said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010300858.html

Before Khaddam's interview the focus was on Assad's brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, but as Washington is interested in regime change, they got Khaddam to accuse Assad directly.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Khaddam "is currently living in Paris and actively holding meetings with European and U.S. officials about Syria’s future".
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9085/syrias_leaders.html

The accusation led to the request by the UN commission to interview the Syrian president.

The Daily Star explains the mechanism behind Security Council Resolution 1644 (and why Bolton was so sure that the Security Council would discuss Syria soon):

It will be a key test of the UN's demand, in Security Council Resolution 1644 of last December 15, that Syria must "cooperate fully and unconditionally with the Commission," including a specific demand "that Syria responds unambiguously and immediately in those areas adduced by the Commissioner and also that it implements without delay any future request of the Commission."

Well, one such future request is already in - an interview with the top leaders in Damascus. Resolution 1644 also includes an important new lever in its clause 5, which "Requests the Commission to report to the Council on the progress of the inquiry every three months from the adoption of this resolution, including on the cooperation received from the Syrian authorities, or anytime before that date if the Commission deems that such cooperation does not meet the requirements of this resolution and of resolutions 1595 and 1636."

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=21213

The interview is used to humiliate Assad and to weaken him further (Flynt Leverett called it "regime change on the cheap").

Syria is under threat of UN sanctions if it fails to co-operate, but it is doubtful that President Assad will accept the humiliation of being questioned by the UN panel.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-1967505,00.html

Any questioning of a sitting head of state inevitably leads to a politicization:

Ahmad Hajj Ali, an analyst and member of Syria's ruling Baath party, said al-Assad could not be interviewed by the probe.
"That's impossible because it would be an attack on sovereignty," said Hajj Ali.
"Firstly because there is no judicial pretext permitting an interview between the president and the commission and also because it would lead to a politicization of the inquiry," he said.
He said the UN request was a direct result of Khaddam's incendiary allegations on Friday.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F651DB94-EC80-4628-B1BD-814F241754EE.htm

As Amotz Asa-El commented in the Jerusalem Post, Assad now faces a dilemma:

The UN commission's request to question the Syrian president himself about the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri leaves no room for doubt: The noose is tightening around Bashar Assad.

Assad is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1136102660050&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

that emperor BUSH would agree to the something similar? not a chance.