Bellemare Prepared a Successor from Day 1 to Secure Orderly Probe Progress
Naharnet Exclusive Report – Leidschendam:
The pace of work at the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon appears to be dynamic, coherent and organized despite Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s absence from Leidschendam over the past few weeks due to health problems.
Those familiar with Bellemare’s condition attribute it to the impact of diabetes on the functionality of kidneys, veins and the blood vessels that feed the body’s extremities, especially the feet.
During the session held Friday by the Trial Chamber to hear arguments from the Prosecution and the Defense Office on whether the initiation of in absentia trials was appropriate, Bellemare’s team appeared to be in a strong position compared to that of the Defense Office led by counsel Francois Roux and his Lebanese-French Deputy Alia Aoun.
Employees at Bellemare’s office told Naharnet on the sidelines of the session that work at all the organs of the tribunal, especially at the OTP, has become institutional in a manner that does not get affected by the absence of any individual, no matter their position and role.
The employees back that up by giving example about how the work of the Trial Chamber remained systematic despite the resignation of late STL president, Italian judge Antonio Cassese, a few weeks before his death.
A high-ranking OTP official told Naharnet that Cassese was keen before his death to secure a calm, normal transfer of responsibilities to Judge Sir David Baragwanath, who was elected as STL president only days before Cassese’s departure from Leidschendam to Italy, where he passed away.
Although Bellemare’s health condition is not as grave to require a similar step, the prosecutor has sought – in coordination with his aides, who are involved in the investigations’ course and files, and with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, who is the side that appoints prosecutors – to take the precautionary measures necessary to guarantee that the OTP would keep functioning in a normal manner upon any emergency, especially that Bellemare had realized upon taking office that he is subject to security threats that might endanger his life given the sensitivity of the case he is probing.
The OTP official noted that Bellemare’s mandate ends in February 2012 and that the prosecutor takes into consideration the possibility that he might not carry on with his mission after that date due to personal reasons or a U.N. decision, without that being inevitable.
The official added that Bellemare’s possible successor was ready and that the substitute would not need any extra time to delve into the case and resume the mission.
The official also stressed that anyone betting on impeding or slowing down the investigations would suffer a major disappointment, especially that Bellemare will be ready -- over the next few weeks and within a timeframe that might not exceed early 2012 – to release new indictments that will include further positive surprises to those counting on the progress of the STL’s work and shocking surprises to those betting on obstructing its progress.
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