LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands, Jan 18, (AFP): The tribunal set up to try the killers of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri insisted Tuesday on keeping its first indictment under wraps as fears of violence rose on the streets of Beirut.
The prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon warned that speculation on the indictment which he submitted on Monday and is widely believed to implicate Hezbollah, would be “counter-productive”.
“This is the first step in our collective quest to end impunity in Lebanon,” prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said in a recorded message as schools were closed in Beirut after dozens of young men appeared on the streets, prompting fears of sectarian violence.
“Several schools asked parents to come and collect their children after groups of 60 or 70 unarmed young men appeared early this morning in each of several neighbourhoods of west Beirut where Hezbollah and Amal have a presence,” a security official told AFP, referring to the two main Shiite parties in Lebanon.

In expectation of being named in the indictment, Hezbollah warned on Sunday it would “defend” itself and branded the tribunal, based in Leidschendam near The Hague for security reasons, a tool of the United States and Israel.
Hezbollah, which enjoys the backing of Iran and Syria, withdrew from the Lebanese cabinet with its allies last Wednesday, prompting the collapse of the unity government led by Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the murdered former premier.
Turkish and Qatari leaders were due in Lebanon Tuesday for talks with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Hariri, now caretaker prime minister, on the crisis in Lebanon.
Bellemare insisted he would not reveal the charges or the names of those listed in the indictment in connection with the massive car bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on the Beirut seafront six years ago. “Confidentiality is essential as I cannot presume that the pre-trial judge will confirm the indictment. If it is confirmed, the content of the document will be made public in due course,” he said, as registrar Herman von Hebel added that a trial could start by September.

“Toward September/October, if things go well, we may see the start of the trial ... with or without an accused,” Von Hebel told journalists at the court, admitting the potential difficulty of arresting suspects.
“The problem with international tribunals is that they do not have a police force. We are dependent on the cooperation of states.” The tribunal’s rules allow for suspects to be tried in their absence and arrested afterwards.
US President Barack Obama has welcomed the indictment as key to bringing justice to the culprits, and appealed for calm amid rising tensions.
“This action represents an important step toward ending the era of impunity for murder in Lebanon, and achieving justice for the Lebanese people,” Obama said in a statement, calling the United States a “strong friend” of Lebanon.

Bellemare said the indictment launched the judicial phase of the work of the tribunal created at Lebanon’s request by a 2007 UN Security Council resolution to find and try Hariri’s killers.
“For the first time, a legal case has been launched by an international tribunal against those responsible for a political assassination in Lebanon,” he said, thanking his team for hard work under “challenging circumstances” that included “many attacks against the tribunal”.
He stressed that justice could not be rushed, and that any evidence presented to the court had to be “credible and compelling”.
“I have made it clear from the start that I would act independently and that I would be driven by the evidence alone,” the prosecutor insisted.
Soldiers deployed heavily in several Beirut neighbourhoods on Tuesday after dozens of men gathered on the streets in an apparent show of force following indictments in the murder of the country’s ex-premier.
“The gatherings may signal preparations to mobilise in relation to the indictments handed down,” a security official told AFP.

“When questioned as to what they were doing there, the men quipped that they were simply going on a trip,” he added, requesting anonymity.
“They began disbanding after about an hour.”
A heavy army presence could be seen by midday in the neighborhoods where the gatherings took place.
“We have taken measures to reassure citizens,” an army spokesman told AFP.
The security official said the gatherings were clearly linked to the political crisis over the UN-backed probe into Hariri’s murder.
Several schools shut down on Tuesday as news spread quickly about the street gatherings in west Beirut.

Similar gatherings were reported in the southern coastal city of Sidon.
“Some schools asked parents to come and collect their children after groups of 60 or 70 unarmed young men appeared early this morning in each of several neighbourhoods of west Beirut where Hezbollah and Amal have a presence,” the security official said.
Education Minister Hassan Mnaymneh urged parents to bring their children back to school and said classes would resume normally.
Last week, the Iranian-backed Shiite party forced the collapse of the government because of a long-running dispute with the Western-backed Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri — son of the slain leader — over the STL.