Canada Fears Hizbullah Reprisals over STL Indictments
Canada's security service identified possible Hizbullah reprisals over Hariri murder indictments as a national security threat, said a report Thursday.
A classified document cited by the Montreal French-language daily La Presse, entitled "Special Tribunal for Lebanon: does Hizbullah have recourse for violence in 2011?" outlines the concerns of Canada's Integrated Threat Assessment Center.
The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) investigating the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri indicted Salim Ayyash, 47, Mustafa Badreddine, 50, Hussein Anaissi, 37 and Assad Sabra, 34, for the 14 February 2005 suicide car bomb attack in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others.
All four are members of Hizbullah, which is now a key player in Lebanon's coalition government and has refused to allow the arrest of the four suspects.
The STL prosecutor in the case, Daniel Bellemare, is Canadian. Two dozen of his compatriots also work for the tribunal.
"Many Lebanese see the STL's investigation as being run by Canadians since it is headed by a Canadian," the said Integrated Threat Assessment Center document penned in March.
It notes that "Canada has considerable interests in Lebanon" and the Lebanese diaspora in Canada includes Hizbullah sympathizers. As such, it goes on to say, Ottawa must remain vigilant against possible reprisals.
Hizbullah is blacklisted by the Canadian government.
Source: Agence France Presse
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