Amid the aftershock of the Gemayel assassination, Mahir Maqlad in Beirut spoke to Saad Al-Hariri, leader of the 14 March bloc Has a decision been made on an international tribunal to bring to justice the assassins of your father? We are waiting for an answer from the president. The president's approval is needed within 14 days. The Lebanese constitution establishes a certain procedure. Should the president reject the draft decision, it would go back to cabinet for a vote. Then it would be sent to parliament for a vote in a general session. Are you confident that the countdown to an international tribunal has started after the first cabinet session? I would only feel confident when assassinations stop. As for the international tribunal, this is not a personal affair. There is nothing in the world that can bring back Rafik Al-Hariri or Pierre Gemayel. What matters is that assassinations end. We in Lebanon have experienced crimes in which presidents, prime ministers, clerics, journalists and parliamentarians were killed. Our position on the international tribunal is one of standing up for justice and righteousness, of wanting the murderers to be held to account. Our position is that any outcome of the investigation is acceptable to us. Preliminary investigation indicated that Syrian hands were involved in the crime. The international investigator made remarks to this effect. This is why the Syrian regime is attacking the forces of 14 March and the Lebanese government. Assassinations are continuing. Is the parliamentary majority, represented by the 14 March current, prepared for all possibilities, including early elections? Some people suggested early elections and we're not against it. But we are the ones being assassinated. The proof is all around you. Pierre Gemayel was killed, and before him Gebran Tueni. Samir Kassir and George Hawi also. All were members of a certain political current; all were members of the 14 March current. If elections were held early, and freely, with judicial supervision, we would win an overwhelming majority. But how can elections take place while assassinations and threats continue? There is one group that is being killed, which is the 14 March group. In the recent war on Lebanon, Israel did a lot of killing, but we knew that was Israel. It may have been better had Israel killed Al-Hariri. But Israel didn't kill Al-Hariri. An Arab country did. And in the future we will learn that an Arab country killed Pierre Gemayel. Do you accuse Syria of killing Al-Hariri. Do you have conclusive evidence? There is a UN report saying that Syrian hands are implicated in the murder of Al-Hariri. Let's be realistic. Wasn't Al-Hariri a prominent Arab figure and an influential Lebanese? And yet Al-Hariri was killed on 14 February and Syria, which was occupying Lebanon, did not take the trouble of holding a single security investigation to reveal the perpetrators. Besides, the scene of the crime was under the control of Syrian intelligence and Lebanese security services and it was tampered with in broad daylight. Who can convince me or explain to me how 1,800kg of explosives entered Lebanon without being discovered by Syrian forces that controlled everything in Lebanon? The Syrian regime has left Lebanon and now Al-Siniora's government is in control of security. Yet the assassinations are continuing. Who is to blame? Syria has left but it didn't leave behind a proper or capable security service. The internal security service numbered 7,000 people after Syria pulled out. This was the total for the entire country. Two-thirds worked behind desks. Only one-third was patrolling streets across the country. Syria didn't want Lebanese security to have any role. Syria was in control, through the Syrian army and Syrian intelligence. Security services now number 22,000 and are entirely Lebanese. Yet assassinations are continuing. Isn't this a failure? Of course there is a security failure. But there is also an excuse. Lebanese security is facing the security services of another state, not a band of murderers or terrorists. When Syria made up its mind to assassinate Al-Hariri or Gemayel or Tueni, what could Lebanese security do? Today, the number of security forces stands at 22,000. But those forces need time for training, to be able to confront such operations. Why were you so quick to accuse Syria of assassinating Pierre Gemayel? You did so only minutes after the killing. We are keeping an eye on Syria, and the regime there has been waging a fierce campaign over the past month on the international tribunal: it threatened us with assassinations and escalation. This is what happened. All Syria's allies in Lebanon, including former Minister Wiam Wahhab and others, said that Lebanon would witness assassinations, which is what happened. Amal and Hizbullah ministers have withdrawn from the government. Was this because of the haste in which the international tribunal cabinet meeting was arranged? The withdrawal was a gimmick. I suggested a cabinet session to be held Monday and remain open until Thursday. We would have had enough time to discuss arrangements for the court. The president was silent for 10 months. After all those months, he finally discovered that he had reservations about the court.
