| MESOPOTAMIA NEWS RELEVANT SOURCES – Top of the Agenda |
| Court Finds Hezbollah Leadership, Syria Not Responsible for Hariri Assassination |
| An UN-backed tribunal in the Netherlands has begun issuing (Reuters) its ruling on the 2005 killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, with the chief judge saying neither Hezbollah leadership nor Syria played a role. Hariri died in an explosion (National), allegedly carried out by Hezbollah members, that killed twenty-one other people, injured more than two hundred, and incited mass protests.
The court’s ruling has been delayed (Haaretz) for nearly two weeks as Lebanon struggles to right itself after explosions devastated Beirut and prompted the government to resign. Lebanon, already hamstrung by a multilayered economic and social crisis, is also dealing with a surge of coronavirus cases that could overwhelm (WSJ) its fragile health system. |
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| Analysis |
| “Most people you speak to, even die-hard supporters of Rafik Hariri, do not believe that this is really justice because it’s been 15 years, because there were so many shifting alliances in the past 15 years, because Hariri’s son, [former Prime Minister Saad Hariri], himself in 2009 reconciled with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,” Saint Joseph University’s Karim Emile Bitar tells Al Jazeera.
“The tragedy in Beirut—the result of decades of systemic negligence and lack of accountability—made clear that a new government, parliamentary elections, and new political parties will not be enough to save Lebanon. The Lebanese must rid themselves of the corrupt sectarian leaders and parties that have dominated the country for decades,” Mohamad Bazzi writes in Foreign Affairs. |
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