US embassy in Lebanon slams 'irresponsible' WikiLeaks

US Ambassador to Lebanon
Laura Connelly

BEIRUT — The US ambassador to Lebanon on Monday condemned the latest release of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks as "illegal and irresponsible," saying they only increased tensions in the turbulent country.

"As a matter of policy we don't comment on documents that purport to contain classified information, but we would condemn in the strongest possible terms the deliberate and unauthorised disclosure of any classified materials," Ambassador Maura Connelly said after meeting Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

"Illegal and irresponsible releases like those made by WikiLeaks serve those who want to increase tensions and settle political scores through inaccurate, out-of-context, and deliberate misinterpretations of material that is claimed to be authentic, but cannot be verified."

Al-Akhbar, a daily which is close to Hezbollah, has begun to publish cables related to Lebanon which it allegedly received from WikiLeaks days after the website's founder Julian Assange said his group would be collaborating with Arab media organisations.

On Monday the daily published a leaked document quoting Hariri as saying he believed Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which fought a deadly war with Israel in 2006, would rise again should there be another round of violence.

The leaks come amid soaring tensions in Lebanon over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a UN-backed investigation into the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.

The tribunal is reportedly to implicate high-ranking Hezbollah members in the murder, a move the group has said would have grave repercussions in Lebanon.

Connelly on Monday reaffirmed her country's support for the tribunal, as rumours abound that the indictments are imminent.

"The US reaffirms its view of the tribunal as an independent judicial entity that must continue to remain free from political interference," said Connelly, whose country is a major donor to the STL.
"This process is a means of demonstrating an end to the era of unaccountability for the terrible and tragic violence that touched all of Lebanon's communities."

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