Britain urges 'get-tough' measures against Syria

The US, France and Britain challenged the rest of the UN Security Council to adopt a very tough resolution against Syria that would threaten sanctions if Damascus fails to co-operate fully with a UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The pressure on Syria is likely to intensify today when a report by the UN special envoy on Syria-Lebanon, Terje Roed-Larsen, on disarming Lebanese militias is released.

There are allegations that Syria is continuing to smuggle arms to Palestinian militia groups in Lebanese refugee camps, in violation of a council resolution adopted in September 2004 demanding that all militias be disarmed.

But how tough the Security Council will be on Damascus remains to be seen. Russia and China, which as permanent members have veto power, and Algeria, the only Arab member of the council, have been hesitant to use the threat of sanctions to back up a call for more Syrian cooperation.

A draft resolution circulated late yesterday by the US, France and Britain strongly backs a report by the UN investigating commission which implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials in Hariri’s assassination and accused Syria of not co-operating fully with the probe.

The report caused an uproar in the region and brought swift denials from the Syrian government, which called the report biased, politicised and an American plot to take over the region.

Syria’s UN Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad told the council yesterday that every paragraph in the report deserved to be refuted. He insisted Syria “has co-operated faithfully and sincerely” and will continue to do so.

But Damascus is certain to be unhappy about many of the demands it would face if the draft resolution is adopted.

It would require Syria to detain anyone the UN investigators consider a suspect and allow the individual to be questioned outside the country or without Syrian officials present.

It would also immediately freeze the assets and impose a travel ban on anyone identified as a suspect by the commission.

The language appeared to be an effort to pressure Syria into giving the investigators access to top security officials – possibly including President Bashar Assad’s brother-in-law and brother – who both may be implicated in Hariri’s slaying.

Syria would also be required to renounce terrorism and ”commit itself definitively to cease all support for all forms of terrorist action and all assistance to terrorist groups and to demonstrate this undertaking through concrete actions”.

If Syria does not fully cooperate with the investigation, the draft says the council intends to consider “further measures”, including sanctions, “to ensure compliance by Syria”.