CAIRO,
April 29, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The United States has snubbed an
official Lebanese request to hand over satellite images on the site
where former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri was assassinated, a
Lebanese newspaper reported on Friday, April 29.
Lebanon
has cent written requests to the EU, Britain, France, Germany, Russia
and the US requesting satellite images on the crime seen, Al-Nahar
said quoting foreign diplomatic sources in Beirut.
All
parties, bar the United States, sent official memos denying possession
of such images, they added.
While
acknowledging, in writing, possessing such satellite images,
Washington declined the Lebanese request.
The
memo suggested that the United States might reconsider its position if
the same request was made by UN investigation committee.
“The
American response means Washington has photos snapped by satellites
that roam the skies of Lebanon and the region before and after
Hariri’s assassination,” said the sources.
Hariri
was killed in a massive bomb blast in Beirut that also killed 20
others on February 14.
Washington
has intensified pressures on Syria since the killing, pushing for the
implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1559 on the
withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon, a clear reference to Syrian
forces.
Damascus
completed the pullout of its troops from Lebanon earlier this week in
compliance with pledges made to the UN.
“Key
Evidence”
The
diplomatic sources said the US satellite images could prove key
evidence in the probe.
They
added that the Americans might be following up the issue secretly,
citing relevant hints by American officials in Washington and Beirut,
including those made by State Department Undersecretary David
Satterfield.
Washington
has repeatedly expressed deep interest in identifying the assassin of
Hariri.
The
report came one day after the arrival of a five-member UN advance team
in Beirut for investigations ordered by the Security Council.
An
initial fact-finding mission found Lebanon's own probe seriously
flawed and declared Syria, with its troop presence, primarily
responsible for the political tension preceding the assassination.
In
March, Al-Arabiya news channel broadcast a videotape that it said
showed images recorded seconds before the explosion that killed
Hariri.
The
90-second tape, which was reportedly recorded by a nearby bank
security camera, did not capture the detonation itself.
On
it, a white pickup truck -- moving at about a quarter the speed of
surrounding vehicles -- enters into camera range. Moments later, the
camera records what appears to be the final movements of Hariri's
doomed convoy of black vehicles.
