Hariri: Call for 'neutral' probe

2005-02-20 11:40

Beirut - Jordan's King Abdullah II has called for a "neutral" probe into former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri's killing, which he said targeted stability in the entire region, a television channel reported on Sunday.

"This great crime that has hit us all at the core should not pass without a complete, comprehensive and neutral investigation to uncover the criminals who were behind it so that they get their punishment," he told Future TV.

"This cowardly and criminal act did not only target the martyr Rafiq Hariri but was targeting the security and stability of Lebanon and the entire region," he told the Hariri-owned channel.

Lebanon's opposition has accused the government and its political masters in Damascus of having had a hand in the massive bomb blast that killed Hariri and 14 others on February 14.

The United States and France, which sponsored a UN Security Council resolution last year calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, have called for an international inquiry.

And on Friday, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said a senior Irish police officer was appointed to head a United Nations investigation into Hariri's assassination.

But the Lebanese authorities have rejected an international inquiry into the killing and complained that the government had not even been notified of the UN decision and said it was unlikely to co-operate with the team.

- AFP