President Bush on Friday urged the United Nations to convene quickly to deal with a U.N. investigative report implicating Syrian officials in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "The report strongly suggests that the politically motivated assassination could not have taken place without Syrian involvement," Bush said.
Bush said he called Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier in the day and instructed her to call upon the United Nations to meet "as quickly as possible to deal with this very serious matter."
"Today a serious report came out that requires the world to look at very carefully and respond accordingly," Bush stated. On her part, Rice said the international community must find a way to hold Syrian authorities accountable. "Accountability is going to be very important for the international community," she told reporters.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Damascus -based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) Ahmad Jibril in an interview with IRNA denied any involvement in the assassination of Hariri, an accusation brought up the UN report. The report claimed that "... among other people in Lebanon, Mr. Ahmad Jibril's men had a role in coordination of preparing assassination operation."
Reacting to the report, Jibril said, "We categorically deny any kind of involvement by any of our members in this case". He added, "We should prosecute Mehlis for this plot".
Jibril continued, "In the last four months, neither Mehlis, nor any of his group members talked with me, but I am ready to cooperate, if a Lebanese investigation committee is founded." PFLP-GC's leader said, "We are surprised by the Mehlis report...which says there is a witness who has claimed there are PFPL-GC members who helped ..., but the witness name is not revealed. Why do they not declare his name? maybe he is a hired agent of Mossad."
