US State Department on Lebanon's arrests

Daily Press Briefing      

US Department of State                                                             
  Sean McCormack, Spokesman                                                             
  Washington, DC                                                                        
  August 30, 2005       

 

QUESTION: Lebanon. Do you have any reaction to the arrests in the Hariri              
  assassination out of Lebanon, and especially whether or not it hardens up your        
  feeling about whether or not Syria was directly involved?                             
                                                                                        
  MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I think that this is still an ongoing investigation. There       
  have been some arrests and some further requests to speak with individuals in         
  Lebanon, and I believe that the UN is also going to have an update on the             
  activities of Mr. Mehlis' investigation. I think that'll be coming out of New         
  York, I think, and that's the appropriate place for it to come from, as it is a       
  UN investigation.                                                                     
                                                                                        
  But I think as a general statement, the Lebanese people deserve to know what          
  happened. This was a terrible moment for Lebanon and the Lebanese people. But         
  out of that terrible moment, the Lebanese people came together and, as a              
  result, they are on the pathway to reclaiming their future, a future free from        
  occupation. And what we have called upon the Syrian Government to do is to            
  comply fully with Resolution 1559. They've withdrawn their troops but we still        
  have continuing concerns about the presence of Syrian operatives in Lebanon.          
  And so we think that part of allowing Lebanon and the Lebanese people to move         
  forward is determining what happened and who was involved in the assassination        
  of former Prime Minister Hariri and that's -- Mr. Mehlis is trying to get to          
  the bottom of that. And in trying to get to the bottom of it, these arrests, as       
  well as these further questionings are part of that effort. We welcome that           
  effort.