Ban Warns against 'Political Vacuum,' Hails STL Trial to End Impunity
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has said the trial of the suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination next week was an important step to achieve justice as he warned that the absence of a new government in Lebanon could lead to a “political vacuum.”
In remarks to reporters in New York, Ban said Thursday that he was looking forward for the start of the trial against four Hizbullah members in absentia at the seat of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague.
“This is an important step to achieve justice” in Hariri's case and a series of other murders against Lebanese officials.
“The international community is determined to end impunity against political assassinations,” he said.
Ban said he appreciated the government’s payment of its share to the STL despite the deteriorating economic conditions in the country.
The STL confirmed last month that it has received Lebanon’s share of the 2013 budget from the Lebanese government.
The full sum of 29, 386, 609 euros, amounting to 49 per cent of the tribunal's budget, was transferred to the STL's bank account, it said.
The trial of the alleged killers of Hariri will open on January 16.
Four Hizbullah members - Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra - are to be tried in absentia for the suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on the Beirut seafront on Feb. 2005.
A fifth wanted suspect, Hassan Habib Merhi, was indicted in October after a pre-trial judge confirmed that he was accused of being involved in the murder.
“I am deeply concerned about the escalation of violence witnessed in Lebanon in recent months,” the U.N. secretary-general told reporters in New York.
He urged “all Lebanese parties to act with restraint and for the Lebanese people to come together to support the institution of the state.”
He said it was “important” to form a new government, and warned that the presence of a resigned cabinet created a “political vacuum.”
“I may have an opportunity of meeting either (caretaker) Prime Minister (Najib) Miqati or President (Michel) Suleiman this month and I will discuss this matter with them,” he said.
The meeting will likely take place in Kuwait on the sidelines of the second donor conference for Syrian refugees.
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