Lebanon court could come to Cyprus

THE UN is expected to decide this week whether it will set up an international court to try the suspects in the murder of Lebanon’s ex-premier Rafiq Hariri and whether it will be in Cyprus or the Netherlands.

The US, Britain and France have drawn up a draft resolution to create the court in line with a deal between the Lebanese government and the UN.

“We are headed toward a vote on that resolution early next week,” US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad, who chairs the council this month, told reporters in New York at the weekend.

On Friday, an amended draft set a deadline of June 10 for the creation of the court, which must be set up outside of Lebanon for security reasons.

It said the treaty “shall enter into force on June 10, 2007, unless the government of Lebanon has provided notification… before that date” that it and the opposition have agreed to ratify it within the national constitutional framework, the amended draft said.

However, even if a decision is taken this week to set up the court, it is expected to take months before it is up and running. A discussion is due to take place today at the Security Council and a vote could happen as early as tomorrow.

The treaty between Lebanon and the UN calls for a three-bench court made up of one Lebanese judge and two foreign judges. A second chamber to handle appeals would be composed of five judges, including two Lebanese and three foreigners.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.