Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Justice and Qatar | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Many rational individuals and sincere observers of the Lebanese arena with its various orientations strive to come up with a just solution to the murder of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri and others who were also betrayed and this solution has come in the form of a U.N sponsored resolution to establish an international tribunal to try murder suspects and to bring them to justice.

Despite international support from genuine and serious countries for the aforementioned resolution before it was issued, the prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, Hamad Bin Jaber Bin Jassim al Thani concluded in a statement that Qatar (the only Arab country that is a member of the U.N) has reservations about the resolution because Qatar, according to its statement, “wants all Lebanese to be in agreement with the resolution.” I was waiting for the Qatari official to add that he was also waiting for the appearance of the Mehdi and for the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula to go green.

This “political wishful-thinking” reminded me of Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s candidate for the U.S presidential elections, who answered a question about what he would he do in Iraq to prevent civil war between the Shia and the Sunnis. He responded, “I would sit with the Sunnis and the Shia at one table and sort out the differences between them.” The commentators responded to his answer with sarcastic smiles and stated that the issue [between the Shia and Sunnis] goes back over 1400 years yet this man says he is going to solve it in a meeting!?

The Qatari request that all Lebanese agree to the resolution to set up an international tribunal is in the same category as Obama’s solution, as the Qatari official demands permission from all Lebanese to the tribunal before Qatar can agree to it. Personally, I am unaware of the Lebanese agreeing with each other on anything…except perhaps Tabouleh and Fayrouz!

Lebanese MP Saad Hariri was not wrong when he described Qatar as a state that supports “the pleasant people” in the region [a sarcastic reference to Iran and Syria].

The international tribunal is not only an investigative and procedural request, rather, above all, it is a moral demand. The series of political crimes, that take place in daylight and in front of tens of witnesses, remains mysterious and without serious investigation. If these conditions continue, the result of the investigation would be that Rafik Hariri killed himself! Many will turn to the “Qatari” position that is incomprehensible and completely unacceptable but it seems that it has been let down by justificatory intelligence while providing a palatable excuse in defense of its position because, basically, it is unbelievable.

The international tribunal to try suspects of the Rafik Hariri murder is a moral and necessary decision…simple.