White House welcomes Special Tribunal, condemns violence in Lebanon

In a statement released by the White House on Thursday, the Obama administration welcomed the start of the Special Tribunal in Lebanon, which will try four defendants charged with assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri, who died in a car bombing in 2005. "We have strongly supported the Tribunal's efforts to hold accountable those responsible for destabilizing acts of violence in Lebanon," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. "The Tribunal's work must continue unimpeded and the perpetrators of these acts must be brought to justice." Carney also underscored U.S. support for the Lebanese government, and condemned "the use of violence as a political tool." "We call on all parties to work together to insulate Lebanon from further instability, including by supporting the institutions of the Lebanese state, assisting the Lebanese Armed Forces, and by respecting Lebanon's neutrality as agreed in the Baabda Declaration," he concluded.