01 March 2009
1. Wide of Beirut city skyline
2. Mid of Lebanese army Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) on road
3. Close of APC
4. Wide of traffic on city street
5. Mid of Lebanese army APC under bridge
6. Wide of Al-Amin mosque
7. Close of mosque
8. Wide of people standing around murdered former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's grave inside the Al-Amin mosque
9. Mid of people reciting versus of the Quran at Hariri's grave
10. Mid of Hariri's grave with pictures of Hariri in background
11. Close of Hariri's picture
01 March 2009
12. Wide of people gathering around Hariri's grave
13. Pull out to wide of Lebanese politicians laying a wreath on Hariri's grave
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Marwan Hamadeh, Lebanese legislator from the Democratic Gathering bloc:
"It is the beginning of truth, the beginning of justice and I think that it is a page that is being opened in the history of Lebanon, the page of Justice, the end of impunity and it is a lesson for many regimes around us in the Middle East."
15. Mid of May Chidiac, a Lebanese journalist and survivor of a targeted car bomb attack, laying flowers at grave
16. Photo of Hariri
17. SOUNDBITE (English) May Chidiac, Lebanese journalist and survivor of a targeted car bomb attack:
"We have suffered too much from killing and killing attempts and the explosions that were put here and there for many decades so now we hope this chapter will be over and will be closed."
18. People leaving the Hariri memorial ceremony
FILE: 26 October 2000
19. Convoy of Hariri arriving at presidential palace after being elected Prime Minister
20. Hariri getting out of car and walking into presidential palace
21. Various of meeting between Hariri and then Lebanese President Emile Lahoud
22. Hariri talking mobile phone
An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was starting work on Sunday at its headquarters in a village outside The Hague.
Despite the start of proceedings, it is still not known who will be accused in the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people on a seaside street in Beirut on 14 February 2005.
Lebanese army forces in armoured personnel carriers were deployed on the streets of Beirut on Sunday to maintain calm.
Hundreds of Hariri supporters gathered peacefully around his grave in downtown Beirut, to mark the beginning of the International Tribunal with many expressing their support.
Marwan Hamadeh, a Lebanese legislator who was targeted by a car bomb in Beirut in 2004, said the tribunal turned a page in Lebanon's history.
Hamadeh said the tribunal "is the beginning of truth, the beginning of justice" and he hoped it would be a "lesson for many regimes around us in the Middle East".
Also paying her respects at the graveside on Sunday was May Chidiac, a Lebanese journalist who also survived a car bomb attack.
Chidiac said she hoped the tribunal would spell the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people.
Four pro-Syrian generals are being held in Lebanese custody although none of them have been formally charged with Hariri's murder.
The generals led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination.
Court prosecutor Daniel Bellemare of Canada said he expects to request within weeks for Lebanon to transfer to the court the four generals.
As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence.
Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination.
Syria has denied any involvement.
After the assassination, mass street protests in Lebanon and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from its neighbour after a 29-year presence.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate Hariri's killing was set up by the UN Security Council in 2007 and comprises both foreign and Lebanese judges.
It is based in the Netherlands to ensure the safety of staff and an impartial trial.
The judges have not yet been sworn in and the names of Lebanese judges have been withheld out of fears for their safety.
Some in Lebanon doubt the tribunal will ever bring out the full truth, believing it might avoid digging deep to ensure Syria does not react by stirring up trouble in Lebanon and other parts of the region.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a trip through Africa, issued a statement praising Sunday's tribunal opening.
He said the commencement marked a "decisive milestone" in the efforts by all Lebanese and the international community to uncover the truth, and bring those responsible to justice.
The Hariri court is the latest international tribunal to be based in the Netherlands.
The Hague is home to the International Court of Justice, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and the International Criminal Court.
