BEIRUT, Lebanon - Both Syria and the Lebanese opposition that it supports criticized the United Nations on Thursday for its decision to establish a tribunal to prosecute the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Also Thursday, Lebanon reopened the road where Hariri was killed by a suicide truck bomb in February 2005. Beirut Mayor Abdel-Monem al-Ariss said the spot would remain "a historic symbol in the heart of Beirut."
The tribunal has been at the core of a political crisis between the pro-Western government in Beirut and the Hezbollah-led opposition that has erupted into street clashes in recent months, killing 11 people.
U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora had asked the council earlier this month to establish the tribunal, citing the refusal of opposition-aligned Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to convene a session to ratify the creation of the tribunal.
Berri rejected these accusations Thursday, reflecting the opposition's bitterness over the government's move to take the issue to the UN.
"It is an honor I claim that I don't violate the constitution of my country or indulge in sowing divisions among its sons, and I left for you the opposite 'honor': ignoring (national) reconciliation and the constitution that guides us in Lebanon," Berri said in a brief statement.
Syria, which has been implicated in Hariri's assassination by the UN, was also quick to criticize the establishment of the tribunal under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which deals with threats to international peace and allows military enforcement.
Shortly after the vote late Wednesday, Syria's official news agency, citing an unidentified official, said: "The formation of the international court under Chapter 7 is considered as a degradation of Lebanon's sovereignty that might lead to more deterioration of the situations on the Lebanese field."
Syrian newspapers on Thursday also criticized the decision as an American-Israeli effort to exact revenge on Damascus, an opponent of both.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied involvement in the assassination and threatened not to cooperate with the tribunal if it infringes on Syrian national sovereignty.
Police cleared roadblocks in front of the 328-yard stretch of road where Hariri and 22 others were killed. The seaside boulevard had been closed for more than two years while the UN scoured the ground, adjacent buildings and the nearby Mediterranean Sea for evidence.
Among the first to drive through was a passenger minivan, whose driver stopped, got out of the vehicle, knelt and kissed the ground, saying: "God have mercy on your soul."
Earlier, Carole Farhat, who survived the bombing two years ago, watched as laborers filled the bomb crater with gravel and paved over it. She said she was glad to be alive "to enjoy this moment."
"I've come to see the spot where I was seconds away from death. It might be a good sign for Lebanon and for us," said Farhat, who was thrown in the air by the bombing as she crossed the road. She lost much of her hearing and sustained injuries to her eyes.
Daniel Germani, an engineer who was also injured in the bombing, said the reopening of the road would allow his team to repair the famous St. George Hotel, which was severely damaged in the blast. Five hotel employees were killed and eight were wounded, he said. He estimated damages to the hotel at $10 million, saying they had yet to receive compensation.
The UN resolution gives the Lebanese parliament a last chance to establish the tribunal itself. If it doesn't act by June 10, the UN decision will automatically "enter into force."
Saad Hariri, leader of the parliamentary majority and the son of the late prime minister, and Saniora have extended a hand to the opposition after the tribunal's approval. But ratification by the parliament so far appears unlikely entangled.
Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim militant group backed by Iran and Syria, had already warned against establishing the tribunal without parliamentary approval.
Saad Hariri said after the vote late Wednesday the decision was a turning point in Lebanon that would protect the country from further assassinations.
The vote is a "victory the world has given to oppressed Lebanon and a victory for an oppressed Lebanon in the world," he said, holding back tears at the end of his televised speech.
Saniora, a longtime confidant of Rafik Hariri, also called the tribunal "a triumph for Lebanon against injustice, crime and tyranny." He urged the Lebanese to put their differences behind, saying the approval of the tribunal was a "positive step" for renewed dialogue to work together.
