Lebanon vows cooperation with inquiry
U.N. team investigates assassination of former prime minister
 |  Rafik Hariri |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 Fallout from the assassination of Lebanon's Rafik Hariri.
|
|
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Lebanon's president says his government will share with a U.N. inquiry any evidence gathered on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan received a letter from Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on Monday promising that support, said spokesman Fred Eckhard.
An investigative team is expected to arrive in Lebanon shortly, said a U.N. spokesman. It will begin work toward a report requested urgently by the U.N. Security Council on the "circumstances, causes and consequences" of the explosion that killed Hariri on February 14.
Eckhard described the U.N. inquiry Tuesday as a "police action" that would be starting in Lebanon with a plan to go wherever the investigation might lead. Eckhard said the team has no "preconceived notion" of who was responsible for the fatal bombing.
The United Nations said Friday the team is being led by Peter Fitzgerald, an Irish deputy police commissioner for Garda Siochana, the country's national police force. Two other senior Garda officials -- Martin Donlan and Patrick Leahy -- are on the team, along with a legal adviser and a political adviser.
Hariri, 60, was a popular politician and construction industry billionaire. He resigned as prime minister in October after the parliament decided to extend the term of pro-Syrian President Lahoud for three more years.
Hariri had pushed for the withdrawal of Syrian troops deployed in Lebanon.
Lebanese opposition leaders have openly accused Syria of involvement in Hariri's death, an accusation both Syria -- and the pro-Syria Lebanese government -- have denied.
Hariri died in an explosion in Beirut's chic waterfront district -- a blast so powerful it left a 20-foot wide, 10-foot deep crater in the road and rained debris on the streets for blocks. Sixteen others were also killed.
On Monday, thousands of people packed the streets of Beirut to protest the presence Syrian forces and the influence they believe Syria has on the Lebanese government. (Full story)
They had support from President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac, who issued a joint statement condemning Hariri's killing and calling for Syrian troops to leave Lebanon in line with U.N. resolution 1559.
Bush and Chirac also said they backed the U.N. probe of Hariri's death.
"We support the U.N. investigation into this terrorist act and urge the full cooperation of all parties in order to identify those responsible," the joint statement said.
Also Monday, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Syria will "soon" take steps to withdraw its army from Lebanese areas in accordance with a 1989 agreement, but it was not clear whether that meant Syria would completely leave Lebanon as demanded by the international community. (Full story)
