Ain-Al-Yaqeen - December 2, 2005

		December 2, 2005

THE UN INVESTIGATOR IN THE INQUIRY INTO THE KILLING OF AL-HARIRI REPLIES TO THE STATEMENT OF THE SYRIAN WITNESS AND ACCUSES DAMASCUS OF OBSTRUCTING THE INVESTIGATIONS.
SYRIA CONSIDERS THAT THE WITNESS STATEMENT DESTROYS THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST HER.
PRESIDENT BUSH INSISTS ON ACHIEVING VICTORY IN IRAQ.
THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY REFUSES THE TEMPORARY STATE AND EREKAT EXPLAINS TO RICE THE SITUATION IN AL-QUDS.

Chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis accused Damascus of using a Syrian witness in the inquiry into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri as a Communist-like propaganda tool.

German prosecutor Mehlis, quoted by a number of Lebanese and Arabs newspapers, said his investigation had not been undermined by witness Hossam Taher Hossam, who recanted his testimony.

Hossam appeared on Syrian television to accuse Lebanese officials of an elaborate scheme of threats, bribery and torture to induce him to testify falsely against Syria and said the inquiry's initial findings rested largely on his lies.

"I'm used to this kind of propaganda," Mehlis was quoted by Beirut's as-Safir daily as saying. "I've spent 40 years in Germany and we used to see such things in former eastern European countries." Mehlis' interim report in October into the Feb. 14 killing of Rafiq Al-Hariri cast suspicion on senior Syrian officials and suggested the assassination was planned by top security officials in Damascus and their Lebanese allies.

Syria has denied the accusations and called the Mehlis report politically motivated, saying Hossam's testimony was the main source implicating Syrians.

"There is no main witness. There is a witness who might give information to the (investigation) commission. What Hossam said in Syria is different to what he told us," Mehlis said.

He said his team would ask to question Hossam again because he was trying to hamper the investigation.

Other newspapers gave a similar account of Mehlis' briefing and an-Nahar newspaper said he expressed his astonishment as to how a Syrian committee also investigating Hariri's death had showed Hossam on television before questioning him.

A Syrian official did not wish to comment on Mehlis' remarks but said Damascus has conveyed to him the outcome of an investigation with Hossam in Damascus.

"Contrary to what has been published, Hossam was questioned in Syria and the minutes of the questioning were sent to Mr. Mehlis on Tuesday," the official told Reuters.

The German was also quoted as saying he might seek to question more Syrian officials after his team quiz five of them in Vienna next week, denying there was a deal with Damascus over whom he could summon. The city was a compromise after Syria balked at Mehlis' request to question them in Lebanon.

"Everyone we ask to question, we will question...Cooperation is either total or there is no cooperation," he said. "If the investigations result in a request for arrests, the commission would recommend their arrests and the Syrian authorities would have to do it."

His October report slammed Syria for failing to cooperate with the investigation. The UN Security Council, which authorized the probe, subsequently warned Syria to cooperate or face the prospect of further action.

Mehlis is scheduled to submit his final report on Dec. 15.

Ibrahim Gambari, the UN undersecretary-general for political affairs, said he expected the investigation to continue but that Mehlis may hand over the work to someone else.

The death of Hariri, a strong opponent of Syrian domination of Lebanon, sparked protests and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops three decades after they went in to quell a civil war.

Meantime regarding the five Syrian officials who have been interrogated in Vienna, the chairman of the UN investigation committee into Rafiq al-Hariri murder, Detlev Mehlis, said he will not take part personally in the interrogation of the five Syrian officials. Mehlis explained in a press conference in Beirut that an expert team from his committee headed for Vienna for this objective.

Mehlis stressed he gave no guarantees to these officials, noting that the inquiries will be made without conditions, according to the authorities given to him. He said that no deal was finalized with Syria but there will be a sort of "flexibility," giving no more details.

The interrogation of the five Syrians came as a crowning of weeks of hard negotiations that yielded in an agreement between Damascus and the UN last Friday under the conditions that the interrogation will be held in Vienna, while Damascus had wanted it to be inside the headquarters of the UN forces in the Golan UNDOF, while Mehlis wanted the interrogation to be in Beirut.

Mehlis refused to explain whether the interrogation has already started, but he said he will submit his report to the UN on December 15, and did not rule out to extend his mission for one more time.

At the same time Lebanon's Ministry of Interior confirmed that the Syrian witness Hossam Taher Hossam had met the Lebanese Minister of Interior Hassan As-Saba at his office late last June.

Hossam had given testimony to an investigation into the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Hossam has just recanted his testimony about the assassination.

The ministry, in a statement commenting on declarations of the Syrian witness Hossam Hossam, said that Saba met him in framework of investigation into the killing of Hariri.

It added that it was clarified during the Hossam meeting that he wanted to give significant and important information over the assassination issue, where he was sent to the UN investigation committee through forces of interior security to present his testimonies before the committee.

Syria rejected the charge and has attempted to portray the report as a document "politicized" by the United States to punish Syria for its positions on Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinians.

The Mehlis commission is expected to question five senior Syrian officials in Vienna. The hearings are seen as a crucial stage of the investigation.

Syria's own commission investigating Hariri's murder presented Hossam at a press conference in Damascus, saying that if he is the unidentified witness that the U.N. report relied on, then his retraction had dealt a "knockout blow" to its conclusions.

The newspaper An-Nahar quoted Mehlis as saying Hossam was an important witness, but not the prime witness. The commission did not get the impression that Hossam was lying when he testified before it, Mehlis told the newspaper.

"The commission has no reason to believe that what he said in Syria was true," Mehlis said of Hossam's TV broadcasts, according to An-Nahar. As-Safir quoted Mehlis as saying Hossam might be summoned for questioning again.

Mehlis criticized the Syrian commission's dealings with Hossam, asking why it did not question Hossam rather than present him to the media.

Mehlis said the Hossam broadcasts were "unprofessional" for an investigating body and an attempt to obstruct the work of the U.N. investigation, according to As-Safir.

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, Fayssal Mekdad, called for the commission to re-evaluate its interim findings. He also demanded that Lebanese authorities conduct their own investigation into the effort to mislead the investigation and give Mehlis "false information."

"Such things should not take place and we want the commission and the Lebanese authorities to follow closely these developments and to bring to justice all those who wanted to fabricate witnesses and to mislead the commission," Mekdad said in an interview at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Lebanese opponents of Syria suspect the country planted Husam to undermine the U.N. commission, a charge Syria denies.

Mehlis told the newspapers he had no knowledge of the guarantees that Syria's Foreign Ministry cited when it announced that Damascus had agreed to allow the five officials to appear before the commission in Vienna. The Foreign Ministry said Syria had received guarantees that its sovereignty and the rights of the officials would be respected.

Mehlis also said that Austria did not have the power to arrest the Syrians after the hearings. Syria was widely thought to have refused to allow its officials to be questioned in Lebanon, as the commission initially requested, because the Lebanese authorities have detained the suspects that Mehlis has named so far.

On the other hand in a major policy address meant to rally US support for the war in Iraq, President George Bush said setting an "artificial deadline" to withdraw US forces from Iraq was not a plan for victory.

Addressing cadets at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Bush outlined in what his administration said was the first in a series of four speeches his Iraq strategy that he plans to give before the Dec. 15 elections in Iraq.

The president outlined gains made by Iraqi security forces, both in training and in on-the-ground success, but said US forces would not leave Iraq until US military commanders determine the country can defend itself.

Bush said setting such a deadline "would send a message across the world that America is weak and an unreliable ally" and would invite additional attacks on the United States. "By fighting these terrorists in Iraq, Americans in uniform are defeating a direct threat to the American people."

Ahead of the speech, the White House released a lengthy 35-page document entitled "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq."

Facing growing doubts about his war strategy, Bush said Iraqi troops are increasingly taking the lead in battle but "this will take time and patience."

The US military presence in Iraq is set to change, as more cities were delivered to Iraqi control, Bush said, American forces would concentrate on training the Iraqis and "hunting down" what he called high value targets, a reference to the Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

He did not say that the terrorists now in Iraq had anything to do with the 2001 terror attacks in the United States, but he powerfully linked the two, saying they "share the same ideology."

Turning to criticism at home, Bush said, "Some are calling for a deadline for withdrawal. The many advocating an artificial timetable for withdrawing are sincere. But I believe they're sincerely wrong.

"These decisions about troop levels will be driven by the conditions on the ground in Iraq and the good judgment of our commanders. Not by artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington."

Perhaps the most emotional moment in the speech came when he said: "... To all who wear the uniform, I make you this pledge, America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins so long as I am your commander in chief."

Recent polls show Bush's popularity at the lowest level of his tenure amid ongoing violence in Iraq and a mounting death toll for US troops.

On the Palestinian arena, the Palestinian Authority renewed its refusal of a project for a temporary state with temporary borders. It called for the immediate start of negotiations for the reaching a permanent solution and expressed its hopes that the next Israeli elections would result in a coalition government that would revive the peace process.

The Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said in a statement after receiving a US delegation chaired by the Senator Chuck Hagel the total refusal of the project for a temporary state with temporary borders. He stressed that the only solution is to renew negotiations in order to reach a permanent, comprehensive and just peaceful solution. He reiterated the Palestinian refusal of one sided policies and the readiness of the Palestinians to resume negotiations.

From his side Senator Hagel said the only way of realizing peace and security in the Middle East is through the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine.

On the other hand Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said in Washington the Palestinians want broad international monitoring of upcoming elections to help prevent Israeli sabotage of the process. Mr. Erekat met Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other Bush administration officials.

Mr. Erekat says the parliamentary elections January 25 figure to be a "turning point" in Palestinian political life, and he is urging the broadest possible international monitoring of the campaign and voting to deter what he warns could be Israeli meddling.

The Palestinian politician spoke to reporters after a round of meetings White House aides and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice focusing on the elections, including U.S. concerns about the role of Hamas and other radical Palestinian factions in the process.

Mr. Erekat sidestepped questions about the prospect of Hamas, an armed group sworn to Israel's destruction, fielding candidates in the election.

He insisted that "strict" Palestinian election rules preclude advocating incitement and violence, and that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is committed to the rule of law and the concept of "one-authority, one gun."

Mr. Erekat said the Palestinians, though still largely under occupation, have made the choice of democracy and are appealing world-wide for election assistance and monitoring to safeguard the process from what he repeatedly insisted could be Israeli "sabotage:"

"The (Palestinian) Central Election Commission has already sent the invitations to the Americans, to the Canadians, to the Norwegians, Japanese, the Chinese, to everybody in the world, so we hope to have thousands of observers to monitor our elections, to see that we have free and fair, transparent elections on one hand. And on the other hand, to make sure that the Israelis don't obstruct these elections by arresting candidates, by assassinating them, or by putting roadblocks or preventing the electoral process," Mr. Erekat says.

Bush administration officials have made clear their unease about the notion of Hamas, winning parliamentary seats and a possible role in a Palestinian government.

Mr. Erekat commended Secretary Rice for her role earlier this month in securing an Israeli-Palestinian accord on opening Gaza crossing points, saying it shows that third-party intercession is often essential in moving peace efforts forward.

He said the U.S. administration should "stay the course" by pressing Israel to end West Bank settlement expansion and fulfill other commitments under the peace "road map" to move the sides toward early negotiations on final-status issues.

Spokesman McCormack said Ms. Rice urged both sides to, as he put it, "keep their eye on the ball" and meet upcoming deadlines under the Gaza checkpoints accord, while calling on the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its "road map" security obligations.

On the other in Germany Angela Merkel gave her first speech to parliament as German chancellor and spoke of a strong Germany full of opportunities and a country that would stand firm on the issues of justice and equal rights.

Merkel, 51, who is Germany's first female leader and the first from the former communist east, struck a personal note when she discussed her hopes for the country's future. "The biggest surprise of my lifetime is freedom," she said, saying she had never expected to see the other side of the Berlin Wall before she retired.

"Let us dare to have more freedom," she said, including more opportunities for Germans to pursue their hopes for prosperity. "Who would have thought that the highest governmental office would be given to a woman this year already?" Merkel said.

Turning to economic issues, Merkel told parliament that her left-right government would return the country to its status as an economic powerhouse. "We want to create the conditions for Germany to be among the top three in Europe in 10 years" in terms of economic growth, she said in the keenly awaited address.

During her speech, Merkel also addressed the topic of Islam and pledged an "open and honest" dialogue with the Islamic world. "Dialogue with Islam carries great significance we have to learn to understand each other," she said. "We will do this in an open and honest way. We will not brush aside differences, but name them clearly."

On the other hand President Abbas welcomed the 'radical' change in Israel he said during visit to Italy that Sharon's re-election could bring peace but adds that situation in Israel from Palestinian point of view was still difficult to decipher because of changes within Likud, where there were many 'new and unknown' faces; Berlusconi: Sharon, Abbas 'right people' to bring peace process to fruition

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the "radical change" wrought on Israel's political landscape by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to set up a new party, saying it could bring peace to the Middle East if he is re-elected.

"There has been a radical change on the political map of Israel. We now have a really new situation," Abbas told a joint news conference after talks in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

"I think that the Israeli people could opt for the choice of peace and when the will of the people is the same as the will of the elected leader, much can be achieved," the Palestinian leader said.

Sharon quit the Likud party he founded last week to set up a new centrist group which has spelled out its willingness to see the creation of a Palestinian state.

The new party, Kadima, seems set to break the two-party stranglehold of Likud and the Labor party in Israel and emerge as the largest group after a general election on March 28.

Abbas, on a two-day visit to Rome and the Vatican, said Sharon had already been voted prime minister by the Israeli people, and when he left Likud the polls indicated he would be the next prime minister."

"Without doubt he is a man to realize his convictions," he said, but he added that the Palestinian Authority was willing to work with whoever wins the elections.

He cautioned that the situation in Israel from the Palestinian point of view was still "very difficult to decipher" because of the changes within the Likud party, where there were many "new and unknown" faces.

The Palestinians took control of a border for the first time with the festive opening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt a virtual gateway to the world and a milestone on their rocky path to independence. It was a rare moment of joy for the fenced-in Gazans.

The inauguration of the crossing, attended by scores of local and international dignitaries, was hailed as the beginning of a new era for Palestinians, but especially the people of Gaza, badly demoralized after five years of bloody fighting with Israel.

The opening of the border under an agreement with Israel bolstered Mahmoud Abbas' message that independence can only be won through negotiations, and gave the Palestinian leader a boost ahead of Jan. 25 parliamentary polls fiercely contested by the Hamas group.

Officials were almost giddy with optimism as they addressed the 1,200 guests at the ceremony in a large tent outside the terminal.

"This is a great day. It is a day of happiness ... because it means an enormous step forward toward the freedom of the Palestinian people," said Marc Otte, the EU representative in the Middle East.

Abbas said he hoped the Palestinians' new gate to the world would spur investment, but said there can be no economic recovery without an end to the rampant lawlessness in the Palestinian territories. "The magic key that can give us everything is the key of security," he said.