U.N. turns up the heat on leaders

Syrian citizens are worried about the increasing international pressure.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- President Bashar Assad's regime, facing a last chance to cooperate in the probe of a former Lebanese prime minister's assassination, quietly weighed its next moves Tuesday as the chief U.N. investigator returned to the Middle East, where he is expected to demand that the Syrian leader and some close relatives submit to questioning.
Significantly, the increasingly isolated regime ordered no big street demonstration in support of Assad's rule, and the state-run media reacted with moderation to Monday's U.N. resolution demanding that Damascus cooperate fully with a U.N. inquiry into the killing of Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14 in Beirut.
Syria will "cooperate to the utmost limit with the international organization and its various committees," said the Tishrin newspaper, which reflects government thinking. That was the hope of many Syrians, who worry that punitive U.N. measures and further isolation would have a direct impact on their lives.
"What does this all mean?" said one bewildered Syrian who did not give his name for fear of retribution. "How will it affect our jobs? Will real estate go up? Should I pack my bags and leave? I'm so confused."
International pressure
Firas Tlass, a businessman and son of former Defense Minister Mustapha Tlass, said Syria must work with the international community and introduce domestic reforms to deflect pressure.
"This is no longer an Israeli-U.S. attack," he said. "This is an international attack."
The resolution came less than two weeks after lead U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis released his report concluding it was not likely Hariri could have been killed without senior Syrian approval. Syria dominated Lebanon for 29 years, but was forced to withdraw its military in April under international pressure.
Mehlis, whose mandate has been extended to Dec. 15, has been given new authority by the Security Council -- and could seek to use it immediately.
He is likely to seek to question Assad as well as Assad's brother-in-law and chief of military intelligence Assef Shawkat, who has been implicated in the killing, as well as the president's brother Maher Assad, who is also under suspicion.
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