Mirza orders probe into HRW report on summer war
The Daily Star
Saturday, September 1, 2007
By Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza ordered an investigation into the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report dealing with the outcomes of the summer war of 2006, a judicial report said Friday. Mirza's request came after Lebanese attorney May Khansa filed a lawsuit against the NGO Wednesday, accusing it of "spreading false publicity against Lebanon and weakening the national spirit."

The judicial report added that Khansa also accused HRW of attempting to "prevent the resistance from protecting its country against Israeli assaults and violating Lebanon's sovereignty."

HRW canceled a news conference scheduled for Thursday to issue its report on Hizbullah's attacks on Israel during last summer's war following condemnations from the Lebanese government and Hizbullah.

The 128-page report of the New York-based rights group focuses on the extent "Hizbullah targeted or indiscriminately fired its rockets toward civilians and civilian objects" during the war.

The HRW report added it "found that numerous rockets were fired in which there was no apparent legitimate target in the vicinity at the time of the attack, indicating that civilians were deliberately attacked."

HRW's report on Hizbullah's performance during the war raised fury in Lebanon. Various politicians as well as media outlets accused the NGO of operating according to a "Zionist and American agenda."

On Friday, HRW issued a statement stressing its independence and integrity, saying: "Contrary to allegations made in recent days, we do not act in concert with political parties or other political groups in Israel or Lebanon or anywhere else."

The statement added that HRW was supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations world wide. "We accept no government funds directly or indirectly."

The 2006 war killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and more than 160 in Israel, among them 39 civilians, according to HRW.

The NGO said the report on Hizbullah is one of a series of reports on the 2006 armed conflict, adding that it will be followed by other reports.

"HRW was the first organization to document the use by Israel of cluster munitions in populated areas in Lebanon, and we subsequently lobbied to prevent Israel from obtaining additional cluster munitions from the US," it added. - The Daily Star