Jitters over Melhis report in Damascus and Beirut
Damascus (AsiaNews) The whole of Syria is jittery waiting for the findings of the report prepared by the commission of enquiry headed by German prosecutor Detlif Mehlis that was charged with the task of shedding light on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Mehlis will deliver his report to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today at 10 am (New York time) who will then submit it to the Security Council duly translated and published in the UN's six official languages.
"Mehlis' report is the beginning, not the end," Annan said. Answering a question by Lebanese journalist Raghida Dergham, he added that it was just a "technical and judicial report", not a political one.
However, the Washington Post claims that three of the four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals who were arrested collaborated with Mehlis.
But as far as Syria's future is concerned, the Secretary-General refrained from saying much about "the fragility of the regime in Syria".
"Syria has an established Government," he pointed out. "I know that there are lots of developments in the region. I know a lot has been read into the report of Mehlis, which I am going to receive this week. I haven't seen the report myself and so I have refused to speculate without seeing the report. Syria, like other Governments, has difficulties, but I do not want at this stage to give you an assessment as to how fragile it is."
In response to a question about his meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice the previous evening and about the fact that the Mehlis report might lead to two resolutions, one by the US and the other by France, condemning the Syrian regime, Annan just said: "We discussed issues of mutual interest, from Iraq to Sudan to the nuclear issue of Iran, Lebanon and Syria."
However, speaking before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary Rice reiterated the accusations her government has made against Syria for not doing enough to stop the infiltration of armed men into Iraq. Although she stressed the United States was still on a "diplomatic course" with Damascus, she did rule out the military option against Syria.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post is reporting about a possible "bloody end" to the affaire involving Ghazi Kenaan who committed suicide last week.
With German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis denied the right to view Kenaan's body, the usually well-informed paper speculates that the Interior Minister's death might be a move by Assad's acolytes against a potential rival to the Syrian President, which might snowball into something bigger.
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17/01/2006
