"The government and the majority remain committed to establish the tribunal," he told reporters Friday after meeting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The need to move toward the setting in place of the tribunal is as strong as it has ever been. No other country in the region has suffered as many political assassinations, all of which remain unresolved."

"It is the truth we seek, not revenge," Gemayel (pictured right) said.

Gemayel's son, Industry Ministry Pierre Gemayel, was assassinated by gunmen in November and his death has been added to those being investigated by the International Independent Investigation Commission, a U.N. probe led by Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz.

President George W. Bush met Thursday with Gemayel who wanted to express the U.S. commitment for "a sovereign and democratic Lebanon," White House press secretary Tony Snow said.

The February 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others sparked huge protests against Syria, which was widely seen as culpable. The first U.N. chief investigator, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the killing's complexity suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in Hariri's assassination.

Syria denied involvement, but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year presence.

Gemayel said in an interview broadcast Sunday he did not know who was responsible for the killing of his son. But he accused Syria of plotting a coup d'etat against the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

The Hezbollah-led opposition has staged a campaign of protests for the past two months aiming at bringing down Saniora's government and replacing it with one in which they would hold enough seats to veto major decisions. Hezbollah is worried the tribunal will be criticized and used against it.

The protests turned violent in January when eight people were killed in clashes between opposition and government supporters, raising fears that the political crisis could once again push Lebanon into civil war.

The fate of the tribunal now rests with the Lebanese.

Ratification of the agreement establishing the tribunal requires a vote from Parliament, but Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri — a Hezbollah ally — has refused to convene the legislature, where it would be brought to a vote.

"We do what we have to — to overcome the obstacles and to face whatever obstacles that could prevent the establishment of this court," Gemayel said.

For now, he said, he supports keeping the current U.N. resolution on the tribunal under Chapter 6 of the U.N. Charter which does not include military measures.

Source: AP