Tribunal is needed to prosecute suspected killers of Hariri, former Lebanese president says

(AP) A former Lebanese president said Friday that obstacles impeding the formation of an international tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of his nation's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri must be overcome.

"The government and the majority remain committed to establish the tribunal," Amin Gemayel told reporters 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."

The February 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others sparked huge protests against Syria, which was widely seen as behind the attack. U.N. investigators said the complexity of the killing suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in the assassination.

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

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

Gemayel, who met with President Bush in Washington on Thursday, said in an interview broadcast Sunday that 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.

In November, Hezbollah and its allies quit Saniora's Cabinet as it was moving to approve the Hariri tribunal after Saniora rejected their demand for a new national unity government that would give their camp veto power over major government decisions.

The Hezbollah-led opposition has staged a campaign of protests for the past two months aiming to bring down Saniora's government and replace it with one in which they would hold one-third plus one of the seats. Hezbollah, which is worried the tribunal will be politicized and used against it, says the government should not consider the tribunal until such a government is formed.

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.