Lebanese President Vows to Find Killers
By PAUL GARWOOD, Associated Press Writer

Associated Press
Feb 18 2005

February 18, 2005

President Emile Lahoud’s commitment came during a condolence visit
to his slain rival’s home and amid Lebanese government efforts to
keep control of the murder investigation, despite calls by Hariri’s
family and the United States and France for a foreign-led inquiry.

No credible claims of responsibility have emerged since Monday’s
bombing, which killed Hariri and 16 others. Lebanese have little
confidence in an investigation led by their own government in light
of its history of being unable to track down those responsible for
past political assassinations.

Thousands of Lebanese have signed a 30-yard-long banner with the word
“Resign” written in French and Arabic, which has been unfurled at
Hariri’s grave outside the towering downtown Beirut mosque he built.
The popular calls for Prime Minister Omar Karami’s government to
resign are the first since 1992, when riots forced Karami, who led
the government then, to step down.

They also increase pressure on the government, which many accuse of
involvement in Hariri’s killing, and its main power-broker Syria,
which also has been linked to the attack and is facing renewed U.S.
and French calls to withdraw its 15,000 soldiers from Lebanon –
a source of resentment for many Lebanese.

Both Syrian and Lebanese governments have denied involvement and
have instead condemned the killing of Hariri, a popular, self-made
billionaire who many here credit with rebuilding the country following
the devastating 1975-90 civil war.

“The president of the republic stressed to the family of the martyr
(Hariri) that the investigation is ongoing to uncover the circumstances
of the ugly crime,” according to a statement released by Lahoud’s
office following the meeting with Hariri’s two eldest sons, Bahaa
and Saadeddine.

The statement added that all clues are being followed that “might
lead to identifying those quarters that planned and executed the
crime against the martyr of Lebanon and his companions.”

Video of the condolence call that was broadcast on television showed
Lahoud talking with Hariri’s sons: Bahaa listening intently to the
president while his visibly upset younger brother, Saadeddine, sat
not facing toward Lahoud with his eyes tightly shut.

Lahoud has been locked in a power struggle with Hariri for more than
six years. At the Hariri family’s insistence, he stayed away from the
Wednesday’s funeral, which attracted more than 200,000 people from
across Lebanon’s divided communities and turned into an anti-government
and anti-Syrian rally.

Thousands of mourners, including those from Lebanon’s Christian
Armenian community, prayed at Hariri’s grave Friday as Muslims gathered
across Beirut for the main mosque prayer service of the week.

Lebanon reopened for business following three days of national
mourning, with shops and cafes doing a brisk trade and bustling
traffic returning to the streets. The Lebanese pound was steady at
around 1,500 to the dollar despite fears Hariri’s death might harm
the local currency.

Different opposition groups are meeting Friday to decide their next
steps. Until his death, Hariri had been tilting toward the opposition’s
anti-Syrian camp, without publicly joining them.

On Thursday, the Hariri family demanded an international-led
investigation into the killing, but Karami’s government has rejected
such calls and instead requested foreign investigators, including
Swiss forensic and explosives experts, to assist.

Justice Minister Adnan Addoum said authorities contacted Interpol
in Sydney over the departure from Beirut to Australia of 12 men with
Australian citizenship on the day of the bombing.

Jane O’Brien of the Australian Federal Police said federal officers
interviewed the men but did not believe any were linked to the attack.

No credible claims of responsibility have emerged, but the interior
minister has said a suicide bomber backed by “international parties”
may have killed Hariri. Even that theory had still not been confirmed.

Suspicion has also fallen on the possibility the bomb was placed
below the street where Hariri’s motorcade was driving, blowing it up.
The chief military investigator demanded police investigate recent
road works in the seafront area, which has since been named for Hariri.

Hariri was expected to run in parliamentary elections in April or
May. He stepped down as prime minister last year amid opposition
to a Syrian-backed constitutional amendment that extended Lahoud’s
presidency. He had held office for 10 of 14 years since the war ended.

—

Associated Press correspondent Bassem Mroue contributed to this report
in Beirut.