The UN's accord, signed Tuesday, to set up the international tribunal still requires the approval of the country's divided parliament in line with the constitution.

The draft also has to be ratified by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, who sides with the opposition in rejecting the legitimacy of Siniora's parliament-backed government.

"There are few chances for the agreement to be ratified if the political crisis persists," international law professor Sami Salhab said.

"Obviously, only a political solution to the crisis can help, otherwise the procedure will remain blocked," he said.

In November, the UN Security Council and the Siniora government approved the creation of the international tribunal that would try suspects in the February 2005 bomb attack in Beirut which killed Hariri and 22 others.

But the move sparked the resignation of six pro-Syria ministers and turned into a full-blown crisis that has paralyzed the Siniora government.

Syria, the long-time powerbroker in Lebanon, is widely suspected of involvement in the assassination of Hariri, who was seeking to lessen the influence of Damascus over his country.

Since December 1, the opposition led by the pro-Syrian, pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah has held an open-ended protest to oust the government. A subsequent strike erupted into violence and left seven dead and 300 wounded two weeks ago.

The next step was now for the Lebanese parliament to approve the tribunal agreement, but pro-Syrian parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri has so far refused to convene the house until the political crisis is resolved.
There was still no official reaction from the opposition on the UN signing of the tribunal agreement.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah on Wednesday reiterated that "we want the tribunal, but we don't want it to be a tool to be used by the authorities against their rivals.

"And who tells us that the Americans will not be using the tribunal for their own political interests?" he asked.

On Tuesday, UN undersecretary general for legal affairs Nicolas Michel denied suggestions that the world body was taking sides in the Lebanese dispute over the tribunal.

"We really want this tribunal to be part of the conditions that are conducive to a lasting peace in the country. In no way would we be ready to participate in the establishment of a tribunal that would be a political tool."

UN officials said mediation efforts were underway to consider setting up working groups involving rival Lebanese parties to try to find common ground on the divisive issue of the tribunal.

The issue has been the main reason behind the complete paralysis facing efforts led by the Arab League to resolve the political crisis, an Arab diplomatic source said on Tuesday.

Telecommunication Minister Marwan Hamadeh, who escaped an assassination attempt in October 2004, welcomed the signing of the tribunal agreement "as a step forward toward the final ratification."

"It is also a response to the arrogant letter sent by President Emile Lahoud to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon," he told An Nahar newspaper.

Lahoud, who has considered the Beirut government as "illegitimate" since all its Shiite cabinet ministers submitted their resignations, recently sent a letter to the UN chief asking him to ignore two letters sent to him by Siniora on January 8 and 30.

"The United Nations signs the tribunal agreement and ignores Lahoud," said the headline of the leading An Nahar newspaper.

"The step may be 'procedural' but observers noted that it was a new confirmation by the international community that the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was the legitimate authority that it deals with in Lebanon," it said.

Salhab also confirmed that "the signing by the United Nations is a procedural matter, but the first implication is that it is an indirect recognition by the United Nations that the government is constitutional."

By Nayla Razzouk
Source: AP