Questions remain about Hariri killing

Supporters of former slain Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri chant slogans during a gathering for prayers and to welcome the UN report in the Martyrs' Square, downtown Beirut, Lebanon, on Friday. Lebanese backers of murdered Hariri called for prayers at his graveside after a UN report found Syria approved the assassination. PHOTO: AP

After months of anticipation, the first findings of the UN investigation of the killing of Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon, overtook Beirut and Damascus, Syria, on Friday, dominating conversations and blaring in news broadcasts at almost every restaurant and shop.

Many Lebanese stayed home or in their offices, fearing violence resulting from the release of the report. Perhaps the only thing selling well in many popular commercial districts was a special edition of the newspaper Al Mustaqba, owned by the Hariri family, which published the 54-page report in its entirety in Arabic. Booksellers and newspaper stands sold out of the special issue within minutes, and some people even took to scalping it for five times the price.

waiting over

"The waiting is finally over," said Ghinwa Jalloul, a member of Parliament associated with the Hariri bloc, led by Hariri's son Saad. "We got the report and what was in it, frankly, was not unexpected. But what is important is that it is now in writing. This is a first step and it's not the last."

But coupled with satisfaction that the truth about the killing may finally be at hand from the report, by the UN investigator Detlev Mehlis, was a sense that the report is less definitive than many had expected.

"Is this the truth? Nobody will really know," said Mohammed Sayed, who sold out of the newspaper in minutes at his kiosk along Hamra Street in West Beirut. "Only the big people really know the truth."

As they pored over the pages and argued about its implications, Lebanese and Syrians were left begging for more evidence, more names, and most important, a feeling that the nine-month crisis would soon be over. But far from the silver bullet many had hoped for, the report signaled that the crisis will continue.

Elias al-Ashkar, 35, stood with his friends in his storefront in the predominantly Christian neighborhood of Gemayze mulling the report.

the truth

"The truth came out, all 100 percent of it," Ashkar said. "But I was not surprised. I do hope this process doesn't take much longer. We want to finish with the subject and get back to work. It's been almost a year now, and nobody is managing to get anything done."

There was also the fatalistic prediction that little may change.

"Syria is now out of Lebanon, but the president will probably live out his term, and politics in Lebanon will still be controlled by four or five people," said Fuad Yehya, 28, an engineer who spent the afternoon in a local Starbucks cafe. "So I don't think this report changes much for us."

Statements in the report that Mahmoud Abdel-Al, a suspect in the bombing, had called the mobile phone of President Emile Lahoud minutes before Hariri was killed raised tough new questions regarding Lahoud's connection to the killing.

On Friday, hundreds of supporters of Saad Hariri, whose alliance swept parliamentary elections in May, gathered at Hariri's grave in the heart of Beirut calling for Lahoud's resignation, as well as that of the Syrian president, Bashar Assad. One supporter wore the latest T-shirt in the sea of slogans: "I love Mehlis."

Lahoud's office, in a statement issued on Friday, denied any connection to the assassination, insisting the phone call claim is "without any foundation." Some said they feared Lahoud would cling to power to preserve his presidential immunity.