UNITED NATIONS (KUNA) -- Former Lebanese President Amin Gemayal on Friday said the Tribunal of an international character to prosecute the assassins of Lebanese former Premier Rafik Hariri will seek "truth not revenge.

" "The need to move towards setting the tribunal in place is as strong as it has ever been. No other country in the region has suffered as many political assassinations. An end to impunity will contribute significantly to the consolidation of the rule of law and the prevention of further assassinations, " Gemayal told a press conference following a meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"It is the truth we seek, not revenge," Gemayel, whose son Pierre was assassinated late last year, said.

He insisted that it is essential, for Lebanon and for the security in the region, that this tribunal be adopted and that assassinations stop.

"This tribunal is a prerequisite to re-establish law and order not only in Lebanon but also in all Arab countries," he said.

He indicated that Lebanon is caught in the middle of a regional conflict. "We know very well that several counties, all our neighbours are involved in the Lebanese turmoil," he charged, adding that some parties in Lebanon don't hide their influence from Syria and Iran.

"Peace and stability in Lebanon is the threshold for more stability in the whole area. When we are able to implement the Lebanese rule it will be the starting point to implement achievement elsewhere in the world," he said.

"It is essential now that we can now get a consensus to a breakthrough to this prevailing crisis in Lebanon, so that it can play again a constructive role in the whole Middle East," he added. Gemayel was in Washington D.C. where he met earlier this week with high-level officials in the Bush Administration to discuss, among other topics, the establishment of the tribunal.

The tribunal documents were signed by the Lebanese Government and the UN. Its establishment is still rejected by the Lebanese opposition.