LCCC NEWS
BULLETIN
APRIL 5/2006
Below news from
the Daily Star for 5/04/06
Israelis say Iran has set up 'front line' in South
Lebanon
Sfeir: Lahoud has tied his fate to Syria, cannot lead
Abu al-Aynayn takes Palestinian case to Hariri
Feltman repeats demand for freely elected president
Rights group urges release of 9,300 detainees in Israel
Ministers voice support for increasing decentralization, boosting municipalities
UN: De-mining is doable in years, not decades
Brammertz meets with local lawyers
The March 14 Forces constitute a gap where leadership should be
Property demand boosts Solidere's net profit to $108.5 million for 2005
Lebanese reforms will face opposition
Israeli planes fire missiles into Abbas' Gaza compound
Below news from
miscellaneous sources for 5/04/06
Syria: New crackdown on government opponents-Amnesty
International
SYRIA: Profiles of three key players-IRINnews.org
Iran's spies watching us, says Israel-Telegraph.co.uk
Feltman Says U.S. Still Committed to President 'Who Looks to the Future-Naharnet
Sfeir: Lahoud Has Linked his Fate with Syria-Naharnet
Israel Says It Was Easier to 'Control' Hizbullah before Syrian Pullout-Naharnet
Syrian Magazine Calls for Investigating Deaths of Syrian Workers in Lebanon-Naharnet
Syria issues warrants against Lebanese MP, minister, journalist-Khaleej Times
Insight And Power-Abdallah Iskandar - Al-Hayat
Feltman Says U.S. Still Committed to President 'Who
Looks to the Future'
Naharnet 4.4.06: U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman has said that the United States
remains committed to seeing in power a Lebanese president who is elected freely,
without foreign intervention.
Feltman, addressing the staff at Al Mustaqbal newspaper during a visit to the
daily on Monday, said "the United States' commitment to Lebanon remains strong
and is not subject to negotiation or reconsideration."
Asked by journalists at the Hariri-owned newspaper about Washington's current
stance on the presidential crisis, Feltman reiterated the U.S. administration's
previously stated position that favors a head of state who looks to the future.
"Our position is based on resolution 1559 that says Lebanon deserves a president
who is elected according to the constitution without foreign intervention,"
Feltman said.
"We now repeat what Secretary of State (Condoleezza) Rice has said that we are
looking to the Lebanese presidency with an eye on the future not the past," he
added.
The United States is at the helm of an international campaign that wants to see
the complete implementation of U.N. Security Council 1559. The edict calls for
the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon, free and fair presidential
elections and the disarmament of all armed groups in the country.
While the first clause was implemented with the withdrawal of Syrian troops from
the country in April last year, the last two have yet to be applied.
Top political leaders at national dialogue talks have been discussing the
presidential issue. However, the participants have reached a deadlock with
regards to President Emile Lahoud's fate. While the anti-Syrian opposition wants
to remove the head of state from power, allies of Damascus want him to stay.
Negotiations were suspended Monday until April 28 which was set as the deadline
for discussing the presidency.
Feltman said one of the most important changes in U.S. policy towards Lebanon is
that Washington has separated the country from its broader Middle East policy.
"We now have an independent policy that is not based on any elements in the
area. There is a commitment at the White House to support the Lebanese people
and whatever happens this commitment will remain," the ambassador said.
Asked if Washington favored a regime change in Syria or if it wanted to see
Damascus change its behavior, Feltman expressed his country's wish to see Syria
take a different course of action.
"The reason that relations between the United States and Syria have worsened is
the behavior of its regime especially towards Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq and
its continued support for terrorism," the ambassador said.
"I hope that Syria will engage in turning around this relationship," he added.
Meanwhile, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Easter Affairs David Welch
said Washington's view of Syria "remains fixed and its essence is that Syria is
intervening in Lebanon."Speaking to a group of Jordanian journalists at the U.S. embassy in Amman, Welch
said "there are terrorist groups working out of Damascus" adding that some of
the attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq were carried out by militants who infiltrated
through the Syrian border.
"There are clear chances for the Syrian regime to change its behavior and the
United States hopes that it will take this decision," the U.S. official said.
Beirut, Updated 04 Apr 06, 11:38
Israelis say Iran has set up 'front line' in South
Lebanon
Compiled by Daily Star staff -Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Iran has set up a sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation in South
Lebanon to identify targets in northern Israel in the event of a military
confrontation over its controversial nuclear program, The Daily Telegraph quoted
Israeli military officials as saying. Senior Israeli military commanders say
Iran has spent tens of millions of dollars helping Hizbullah to establish a
network of control towers and monitoring stations along Israel's border with
southern Lebanon, according to the UK-based daily.
Hizbullah refused to comment on the statement.
The newspaper said that some of the new control towers are made of reinforced
concrete and fitted with bullet-proof reflective glass, adding that they are
less than 100 yards from Israeli army positions. "This is now Iran's front line
with Israel," a senior Israeli military commander was quoted as saying. "The
Iranians are using Hizbullah to spy on us so that they can collect information
for future attacks. And there is very little we can do about it."
Such comments come as anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians have launched a campaign
accusing the Shiite group of serving Syrian and Iranian interests in the region.
The Israeli army commanders told the Telegraph that Hizbullah has increased its
activity in southern Lebanon since Syria came under intense international
pressure to withdraw its forces from Lebanon last year following the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Israeli military officers claimed that teams of Iran's Revolutionary Guards
travel regularly to southern Lebanon to help train local Hizbullah fighters in
what they called "terrorist" tactics. They did not say, however, how they
obtained such information.
Senior Israeli military officers believe Iran is deliberately exploiting the
power vacuum caused by Syria's withdrawal to intensify pressure on Israel's
northern border. The right-wing daily reported that many senior Israeli officers
have openly admitted to missing the restraining influence of Syria over
Hizbullah. "When the Syrians were in Lebanon it was easy for us to control
Hizbullah," said an officer with Israel's northern command. "If things got too
tense we could put pressure on Damascus and the Syrians would act quickly to
calm things down.
"Iran is playing a very dangerous game of cat-and-mouse on our northern border
and it could easily spiral out of control at any moment," the officer told the
British newspaper. Meanwhile, Israel may soon be facing international pressure
to withdraw from the Shebaa Farms region on its northern border in light of the
possibility of the area being declared Lebanese territory, Israeli officials
estimate. According to Yediot Aharonot, other sources in Israel believe the
scheme would not materialize because the chances of Syria agreeing to it are
slim. "The matter is not that simple, as Syria and Hizbullah have no interest in
helping us," Tel Aviv University Professor and Syria expert Eyal Zisser said. "I
don't see this possibility in the near future."
Speaking to The Daily Star, a source close to Hizbullah said: "The main issue is
about occupied land, and Israel has to leave it, as simple as that. "UN
resolutions demand they pull out, unconditionally, and so it is Israel's problem
not ours if they feel pressured to pull out."
Israeli concerns stem from the announcement made in mid-March by top Lebanese
officials in support of efforts at the UN to confirm that the farms belong to
Lebanon. Lebanon claims the Shebaa Farms, which have been controlled by Israel
since it occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, are
Lebanese.
The U.N. says the farms are Syrian and that Syria and Israel should negotiate
their fate. However, U.N. envoy to Lebanon Terje Roed-Larsen said in Riyadh last
month that the identity of Shebaa was a matter to be resolved between Lebanon
and Syria. "When the two countries come to an agreement then they can go to the
U.N. for a resolution. Until that happens, the Blue Line must be respected," he
said. However, Syria objects to the scheme and, despite announcing several times
that the farms are Lebanese, has refused to send the UN official papers to that
end. The paper added: "Hizbullah is likely to find a new pretext in the form of
seven villages currently in Israeli territory, which the Lebanese group said in
the past are part of Lebanon." - With Naharnet
Sfeir: Lahoud has tied his fate to Syria, cannot lead
By Nada Bakri -Daily Star staff
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
BEIRUT: Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said the "isolated"
President Emile Lahoud is no longer qualified to hold the country's top
executive post. Speaking to French magazine Le Point, the leader of the
influential Christian Maronite Church said Lahoud had linked his fate to Syria
and is not ready to succumb to the pressures exerted on him to resign.
"Lahoud cannot fulfill his duties as a president anymore because he is isolated
and boycotted by local and international figures," Sfeir was quoted as saying.
"The president is a military man and is not ready to succumb and resign. In any
case, he has linked his fate to Syria," the patriarch said. Lahoud is a former
Army commander. In recent months, Sfeir has joined the anti-Syrian coalition's
calls to topple Lahoud, who they consider the last vestige of Syrian domination
over Lebanon.
The coalition, calling itself the March 14 Forces, blames Lahoud for an ongoing
political deadlock and has been meeting with Syria's allies in a
leadership-level national dialogue for the past month in a bid to decide the
president's fate.
However, Sfeir has repeatedly warned against taking to the street to achieve
this goal, fearing demonstrations might lead to deadly confrontations. The
patriarch has also stated that the president's dignity should be preserved, both
as an individual and as the representative of Lebanon's highest post. The
country's rival political leaders have said that it is up to the patriarch to
choose the next head of state, who, according to the country's sectarian
political system, must be a Maronite.
The Lebanese Forces recently dispatched a delegate to Sfeir with a list
containing four presidential candidates.
But Sfeir has been reluctant to name a candidate since his favorite candidates
have historically been passed over.
"When I make my decision [on the next president] all Maronites will be unhappy,
except for one. I have said what the required qualities are for the presidency:
a person who is competent, independent, honest and accepted by everyone," Sfeir
told the French magazine. Although Sfeir held Lahoud's military background to
blame for his refusal to resign, he did not rule out the possibility that
another former Army commander, MP Michel Aoun, could become the next president.
"We have earlier said that he should not be a military man. But General Aoun
told me that he has not been a military man for over 20 years. Anyway, it is up
to the Lebanese to choose for themselves," Sfeir said.
Sfeir also commented on Aoun's forging of an agreement between his Free
Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah, saying: "It is a positive move as the
Christians cannot be a separate group. They should cooperate with all the
Lebanese."
Sfeir mentioned the presence of various armed groups in Lebanon and the reported
smuggling of weapons across the Syrian border, expressing concern over Lebanon's
current political crisis and a possible outbreak of violence.
"Nobody wants war. The Arab countries are looking for a peaceful solution and so
is the United States," he added.
Meanwhile, various anti-Syrian politicians have expressed the new-found
conviction that Lahoud will remain in office until the end of his term in 2007.
"The presidential issue has reached a dead end and the only way out is either to
try and convince Lahoud to resign or by negotiating a deal with Syria," one such
politician told The Daily Star.
Sources participating in the national dialogue said both the fate of Lahoud and
Hizbullah's arms can only be resolved through direct Lebanese-Syrian talks,
given Syria's considerable influence with Lahoud and the resistance.
While Premier Fouad Siniora is planning to meet with Syrian officials to mend
relations, sources predicted such a visit was not likely to take place anytime
soon. Lebanese officials have already relayed to Damascus a proposal for the
agenda of Siniora's visit, but have not yet received a response. It has been
reported that Syrian President Bashar Assad will receive Siniora once Lahoud
approves the premier's agenda. This means that a series of internal talks is
required to reach an agreement over Siniora's agenda. On Wednesday, Lahoud will
head a special Cabinet session to discuss the government's economic reform plan.
It was reported that Lahoud, along with various economic institutions, strongly
rejects the plan to be proposed before an international donor conference to be
held sometime this year in Beirut.In a separate development, Saudi Arabia's
Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Tuesday that he hoped the
national dialogue would succeed in mending Syrian-Lebanese relations.
Feltman repeats demand for freely elected president
American ambassador rails against 'foreign intervention'
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
BEIRUT: U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said Monday that the United States
remained committed to seeing Lebanese have a president who was elected freely,
without foreign intervention. Feltman, addressing the staff at Al-Mustaqbal
newspaper during a visit to the daily, said: "The United States' commitment to
Lebanon remains strong and is not subject to negotiation or
reconsideration."Asked by journalists at the Hariri family-owned newspaper about
Washington's current stance on the presidential crisis, Feltman reiterated the
U.S. administration's previously stated position, which favors a head of state
who looks to the future. "Our position is based on Resolution 1559, which says
Lebanon deserves a president who is elected according to the constitution
without foreign intervention," Feltman said.
"We now repeat what Secretary of State (Condoleezza) Rice has said, that we are
looking to the Lebanese presidency with an eye on the future not the past," he
added. The United States is at the helm of an international campaign that wants
to see the complete implementation of UN Security Council 1559. The edict calls
for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon, free and fair presidential
elections and the disarmament of all armed groups in the country.
While the first clause was implemented with the withdrawal of Syrian troops from
the country in April last year, the last two have yet to be applied. Top
political leaders at national dialogue talks have been discussing the
presidential issue. However, the participants have reached a deadlock with
regard to President Emile Lahoud's fate.
While the anti-Syrian opposition wants to remove the head of state from power,
allies of Damascus want him to stay.
Negotiations were suspended Monday until April 28, which was set as the deadline
for discussing the presidency.
Feltman said one of the most important changes in U.S. policy toward Lebanon was
that Washington has separated the country from its broader Middle East policy.
"We now have an independent policy that is not based on any elements in the
area. There is a commitment at the White House to support the Lebanese people,
and whatever happens this commitment will remain," the ambassador said. Asked if
Washington favored a regime change in Syria or if it wanted to see Damascus
change its behavior, Feltman expressed his country's wish to see Syria take a
different course of action.
"The reason that relations between the United States and Syria have worsened is
the behavior of its regime, especially toward Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq and
its continued support for terrorism," the ambassador said. "I hope that Syria
will engage in turning around this relationship," he added.
Meanwhile, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Welch
said that Washington's view of Damascus "remains fixed and its essence is that
Syria is intervening in Lebanon."Speaking to a group of Jordanian journalists at
the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Welch complained that "there are terrorist groups
working out of Damascus," adding that some of the attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq
were carried out by militants who infiltrated through the Syrian border.
"There are clear chances for the Syrian regime to change its behavior and the
United States hopes it will take this decision," the U.S. official said. -
Naharnet
Brammertz meets with local lawyers
Bar association offers assistance for hariri tribunal
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
BEIRUT: Serge Brammertz, the head of the UN probe into the assassination of
former Premier Rafik Hariri, met with Boutros Doumit, the head of the Beirut Bar
Association on Tuesday, along with the Bar's council members.
According to a statement issued by the Bar Association, the meeting revolved
around the inner workings of the UN probe, the procedures followed by the
Lebanese Judiciary, and the application of Lebanon's penal and criminal codes in
the international tribunal being formed to try Hariri's assassins. The meeting
also covered any possible legal consultations that the Bar can provide in any
future trial, it added. According to the statement, Doumit informed Brammertz of
the legal pitfalls likely to arise by applying Lebanese law in the international
tribunal, and of the need for the tribunal to be erected outside of Lebanon.
Meanwhile, a judicial source denied rumors circulating Lebanon that a UN
delegation will arrive in Lebanon in the coming 48 hours for meetings with the
Justice Ministry on the specifics of the tribunal. The source said that "nothing
is expected before April 15." Asked whether Detlev Mehlis, the former UN probe
chief, would replace Brammertz at the end of his term, the source said he
"hoped" that Brammertz "finishes his work by the end of his term, rather than
seeing the investigations extended for another six months."Brammertz has said he
does not intend to serve another term.
In related developments, Justice Minister Charles Rizk said in an interview with
pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera on Tuesday that Lebanon is awaiting the
arrival of a UN delegation to ink an agreement on the principles of the
tribunal, to which a Lebanese judicial delegation agreed in New York in
February. Rizk confirmed that any such agreement would have to be presented to
the Parliament for approval. The minister revealed that the talks would include
"the appointing of an international general prosecutor," who will receive a
final investigation report from Brammertz.
Rizk added that the UN has agreed to several points presented by the Lebanese
delegation regarding the nature of the tribunal, including the implementation of
Lebanese law, "with the modifications which the international community demands
regarding the death penalty. Then there is the fact that the tribunal would
include Lebanese, Arab and foreign magistrates."
He added that "the trial will consist of two phases as the international
community always requests the possibility to appeal a tribunal's decision. Rizk
also said that he contacted UN special envoy to Lebanon Geir Pedersen on Monday,
and that Pedersen promised him that "he will follow up the matter in New York to
hurry things along."
According to Rizk, "the Lebanese are in a hurry because there is no reason for
delay."
Also Tuesday, the State Prosecutor's Office received copies of witnesses'
statements and other relevant information from the UN commission.
Syria issues warrants against Lebanese MP, minister, journalist
(AFP)4 April 2006
BEIRUT — A Syrian court has issued warrants for prominent anti-Syrian Lebanese
MP Walid Jumblatt, telecommunication minister Marwan Hamadeh and journalist
Fares Khashan, Hamadeh said yesterday. “There were warrants for questioning
ordered by a Syrian penal tribunal... against Walid Jumblatt, myself and
journalist Fares Khashan,” Hamadeh told reporters. It was not clear if the
warrants were linked to a reported lawsuit against Jumblatt in a Syrian military
court. Hamadeh said he considered the warrants “a threat against our security,
after all that happened.”Jumblatt is one of the leaders of Lebanon’s anti-Syrian
parliament majority which has accused Syria of involvement in a series of
bombings, including a failed attempt on Hamadeh’s life and the murder of former
premier Rafik Hariri in February 2005.
Hamadeh said he will tell the UN commission investigating Hariri’s death about
the Syrian warrants.
Iran's spies watching us, says Israel
By Con Coughlin Defence and Security Editor, on Israel's northern border
(Filed: 04/04/2006)
Iran has set up a sophisticated intelligence gathering operation in southern
Lebanon to identify targets in northern Israel in the event of a military
confrontation over its controversial nuclear programme.
Senior Israeli military commanders say Iran has spent tens of millions of pounds
helping its close ally, Hizbollah, the Shia Muslim militant group that controls
southern Lebanon, to set up a network of control towers and monitoring stations
along the entire length of Israel's border with south Lebanon.
Some of the new control towers, which are made of reinforced concrete and fitted
with bullet-proof reflective glass, are less than 100 yards from Israeli army
positions and are clearly visible for long stretches along Israel's border.
"This is now Iran's front line with Israel," a senior Israeli military commander
said. "The Iranians are using Hizbollah to spy on us so that they can collect
information for future attacks. And there is very little we can do about it."
The Israeli military has reported a significant increase in Hizbollah activity
in southern Lebanon since Syria came under intense international pressure to
withdraw its forces from the area last year following the assassination of the
Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Israeli military officers report that teams of Iran's Revolutionary Guards
travel regularly to southern Lebanon to help train local Hizbollah fighters in
terrorist tactics. Tensions between Iran and Israel have intensified
dramatically since the election last summer of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as
Iran's new leader. Israel has repeatedly threatened to take military action to
prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and the new Iranian government has
responded by calling for Israel's destruction.
Senior Israeli military officers believe Iran is deliberately exploiting the
power vacuum caused by Syria's withdrawal to intensify pressure on Israel's
northern border.
Hizbollah is aware that Israel is keen to maintain friendly relations with the
new government in Lebanon and believes it can act freely in southern Lebanon
without provoking retaliatory strikes from Israel.
Officers report a sharp increase in border incidents between Hizbollah fighters
and Israeli units on the northern border, with the main flash points located at
the disputed Druze village of Ghajar, which is divided by the border between
Israel and Lebanon, and Mount Dov, which Hizbollah also claims should be part of
Lebanon.
The situation is now regarded as so serious that many senior Israeli officers
openly admit to missing the restraining influence of Syria over Hizbollah.
"When the Syrians were in Lebanon it was easy for us to control Hizbollah," said
an officer with Israel's northern command. "If things got too tense we could put
pressure on Damascus and the Syrians would act quickly to calm things down."
Although the Lebanese government technically controls the border area, its
military is not considered strong enough to control Hizbollah, which takes its
orders directly from Teheran.
"Iran is playing a very dangerous game of cat and mouse on our northern border
and it could easily spiral out of control at any moment," said the officer.
In recent weeks Hizbollah sent unmanned aircraft on reconnaissance missions over
the border to photograph sensitive Israeli military installations. The spy
planes returned to base before being detected by air defence systems.
In addition to providing intelligence-gathering and communications equipment,
Iran has also equipped Hizbollah with improved weapons and ammunition to launch
attacks against Israel, including heavy mortars and rockets with a range of up
to 30 miles.
SYRIA: Profiles of three key players
DAMASCUS, 3 Apr 2006 (IRIN) -
Bashar al-Assad – President
Bashar al-Assad has variously been described as the “enigma of Damascus” and of
running a “dictatorship without a dictator”. After nearly six years in power,
the 40-year old president, who inherited a state founded on security and
economic protectionism, has shown himself to be neither the reformist that was
hoped for nor the dictator that was feared.
After the death of his elder brother Bassel in a 1994 car crash, Bashar – then
training as an ophthalmologist in London – returned to Syria to be groomed for
the succession. His father, Hafez, had been the ruler of Syria for 30 years.
Bashar went from head of the Syrian Computing Society to heir-apparent, leading
anti-corruption drives, undergoing military training and taking over Syria’s
day-to-day running of Lebanese affairs. After a brief thaw in political life
that followed his assumption of power in 2000, political reform quickly took a
back seat to the liberalisation of the economy, a goal towards which Bashar has
been partly successful.
But questions remain as to his reform agenda. His battle with the
change-resistant old guard of his father’s generation has given way to
challenges facing him over an alleged Syrian role in the assassination of the
former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A UN investigation into the crime
has pointed the finger at the Syrian security services, although this remains
strenuously denied by Damascus.
Farouk al-Shara was appointed ambassador to Rome in 1976. Eight years later, he
was appointed minister of foreign affairs, taking over from Abdel Halim Khaddam.
Al-Shara held the post for 22 years until February 2006, making him one of the
longest serving foreign ministers in the world. During the mid-1980s, Shara was
crucial to Syria’s support for Iran during Tehran’s war with the regime of
former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
In 1991, al-Shara helped former President Hafez al-Assad negotiate Syria’s
involvement in Operation Desert Storm, the US-led war to liberate Kuwait from
Iraqi occupation following UN Security Council Resolution 678. Following the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the same year, al-Shara was charged with
repairing Syria’s relations with the US. For a decade he also tried to negotiate
a peace deal with Israel based on the “land-for-peace” formula, although talks
broke down at Washington-backed summits in 1991, 1999 and 2000.
Al-Shara has gained a reputation as a harsh critic of Israel and a staunch
defender of Arab and Syrian rights. His promotion to vice-president in February
was meant to fill a role not seen before in Syrian politics by taking charge of
what the state media has called “executing foreign and media policy under the
directions of the president”.
Abdel-Halim Khaddam – Former vice-president, exiled opposition leader
Abdel-Halim Khaddam worked to build Syria’s Ba’ath Party for over half a
century. After serving as governor of Hama during the Muslim Brotherhood
uprising in that city, Khaddam later governed Quneitra, the town in the Syrian
Golan region lost to Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. When Hafez al-Assad
seized the presidency in 1970, Khaddam began a three-decade period as his
trusted aid. He quickly rose through the ranks, serving as foreign minister from
1970 to 1984 – a post which he used to lay the strategic foundations for
Syrian-Iranian relations – before becoming vice-president.
After Hafez’s son Bashar became president in 2000, however, Khaddam saw his
power and influence drastically curtailed. He eventually resigned from his
position in the party at last year’s Ba’ath party conference. At the end of
2005, the former minister went into exile in Paris, where he began an
unprecedented attack on Syria’s president, who he accused of ordering the
assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri. Once a man implacably
opposed to political Islam and an architect of one-party rule in Syria, Khaddam
now spearheads an exiled opposition alliance with the outlawed Muslim
Brotherhood, saying he will bring democracy to Syria within months.[ENDS]
Syria: New crackdown on government opponents
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: MDE 24/031/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 087
3 April 2006- Reacting to a recent wave of arrests of activists and others in
Syria and yesterday's sentencing of a civil society activist to five years in
prison, Amnesty International today called on the Syrian government to
immediately release all those arrested for peacefully expressing their opinions.
"This new crackdown on suspected government opponents is deeply troubling," said
Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa
programme. "We are particularly concerned that many of these people are being
held in incommunicado detention, where they are at risk of torture." Scores have
been arrested from across the social and political spectrum in Syria in recent
months -- including Kurds, Islamists, human rights activists, writers, students
and leftists -- while others have been harshly sentenced after unfair trials. At
least several hundred political prisoners remain detained in Syria, many of whom
are prisoners of conscience. Most were sentenced by the Supreme State Security
Court (SSSC) or Military Court, both of which suffer from a gross lack of
independence and impartiality. The political and social life in the country is
strictly controlled by the Ba'th Party, which has maintained a State of
Emergency in Syria for 43 years.
Those held incommunicado are at high risk of torture and ill-treatment, which is
common in Syrian interrogation and detention centres. Yesterday, civil society
activist Riyad Drar was sentenced to five years in prison by the SSSC, whose
trial procedures are grossly unfair, due to a speech he gave at the funeral of
Kurdish Sheikh Muhammad Ma'shuq al-Khiznaw. Al-Khiznaw was killed by suspected
government agents on 30 May 2005, days after he "disappeared".
Also yesterday, the SSSC sentenced 'Abd al-Sattar Qattan to death for membership
of the banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation. The court then commuted the
sentence to 12 years in prison.
"We are also seeing a pattern of intimidation on the part of the authorities
that involves the arrest, usually for a period of up to several days, of human
rights defenders and pro-democracy activists," said Malcolm Smart. "We call on
the Syrian authorities to release immediately those held for their involvement
in human rights-promoting activities, for their peaceful beliefs and for the
peaceful expression of their opinions."
Recent arrests and sentences include:
On 31 March, the writer Muhammad Ghanem was arrested at his house by agents of
Military Intelligence and taken to an unknown location. Muhammad Ghanem is
well-known for his internet writings, particularly on the issue of Syrian Kurds.
On 28 March it was reported that three students -- Muhammad Osama Kash, 'Abd al-Rahman
al-Sherif and Huseyn Rajeb al-'Abood -- were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment
by the SSSC due to their 'Islamist' identity. Journalist 'Ali al-'Abdullah and
his son Muhammad 'Ali al-'Abdullah were arrested on 23 March and remain held
incommunicado at an unknown location. It is thought their detention may be
linked to their participation in the weekly demonstration that occurs outside
the SSSC when it is in session. Another of 'Ali al-'Abdullah's sons, 'Omar, is
one of eight students being held incommunicado, reportedly at the Air Force
Intelligence Branch the town of Harasta, near Damascus, because of their alleged
involvement in a small, pro-democracy youth movement. The eight students were
arrested at various dates since 26 January. On 19 March, the SSSC handed down
seven-year sentences to two Kurds and two-and-a-half-year sentences to three
Kurds convicted of "membership of an unauthorised organisation" and "attempting
to annex part of Syrian territory to another state". These charges are routinely
levied against Syrian Kurdish activists. On 20 March, scores of Syrian
Kurds were arrested -- and most remain held at unknown locations -- following
Nowruz (the lunar 'New Year') celebrations in Aleppo that were forcefully
dispersed by the security forces.
Other human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists arrested for short
periods in recent days include Michel Kilo, Fida al-Hurani, Aktham Nu'ayse,
Hassan 'Abd al-'Aziz, Suleyman Yusef, Najati Tayyara, Samir al-Nashar, 'Abd al-Razaq
'Eid, Muhammad Walid al-Kabeer and Dr 'Ammar Qurabi.
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Insight And Power
Abdallah Iskandar Al-Hayat - 04/04/06//
The lashing out session directed at those concerned during the controversy at
the onset of the Ministers' meeting in Lebanon should have been a weeping
session, although the irony and acting prevailed over the essence of politics
and the administration of a country in crisis. It was possible for the heated
argument to turn into a physical clash since the anger was heightened to a
climax. Nothing hampers such development in the future, since nothing will
impede the cumulative row from leading the dialogue to an end.
Some of those involved in the row have the insight, yet are helpless, while
others lack the insight but are powerful.
The first category is wagering on the future, given its current weakness;
seeking to explain its situation in all ways, only to be surprised in finding
that its viewpoint does not bear the assumed support. It is frustrated, both
inside and outside. Stances are the only thing left to be registered for
History.
The second category is working on firmly consolidating its current situation,
based on its power. It is not ready for wagers that transfer this power to its
rivals, who steer the international resolutions targeting the sources of this
power. At the same time, it is incapable to look up to the future, the stability
of which requires acknowledging the right of others to be different and to
defend their stances.
The battle is a controversy; it is fluctuating up and down to the tune of what
supposedly is the impetus of events, from the international investigation into
Hariri's assassination to the implementation of resolution 1559, the
investigation tackling the Syrian situation, the arms of "Hezbollah," the
Palestinian militias, and the fate of the President of the Republic.
Based on the leaks stemming from one or another file, the pendulum is swinging
towards the first category at times and the second category at other times. In
this case, the victorious inclination prevails, coupled with intransigence
translated in driving the dialogue towards an escalation on the one hand. One
week after, the inclination could switch to its opposite, hence, the dialogue
stays at a standstill. Without any serious progress, since the powerful is
always capable of absorbing the plummeting phase, only to start out strongly in
the next phase.
This is what happened mid last week, in Khartoum and Beirut. In the Sudanese
capital, following a large-scale PR campaign carried out by the Syrian
diplomacy, the powerful succeeded in imposing their point of view with respect
to the arms of "Hezbollah", making it the only resistance in Lebanon. Any
proposal to examine the issue thus becomes a violation of an Arab summit
decision, which is not lenient towards confronting Israel from the Lebanese
south and no other.
The Arab coverage of this stance, as nearly all Arab stances in facing crises
during summits, favors the immediate, easiest, unilateral, and simple solutions.
The observers saw the leaders' stances in Khartoum vis-à-vis the Lebanese crises
as replicating the ones expressed by the poles of Arab parties and syndicates
that are proficient at solidarity in capitals that assume the fees of their
travel, stay, and some personal expenses. Just as a leader is excited by the
power of solidarity speeches on the faculty stage, the Lebanese President was
thrilled by the speeches of Khartoum. He went back home empowered by this
solidarity, in addition to the power he is drawing from his alliance with the
internal parties.
The inflated feeling of power on the one hand and the growing feeling of
frustration on the other hand lead to a session of cursing… Some probably sought
to end the phase of the dialogue that is supposed to be resumed on Monday.
Indeed, they felt so powerful that they no longer need this dialogue. They may
also consider that the due related to the investigation and the UN resolution
1559 has become very pressing, thus needed to sweep the table beforehand and
severe ties with everyone. After all, insight cannot fight and withstand a
hard-hitting power.