AMERICAN PRESSURES ON SYRIA FREES ASAD FROM THE OLD GUARD
By an IPS Correspondent
BEIRUT, 3 May. (IPS) "Like it or not, believe it or not, but I can
assure you that Bashar (Asad) welcomes American pressures on Syria, as it would
help him to get rid of the old guard that prevents him opening the Syrian
political society", one Syrian political analyst told Iran Press Service on
condition of anonymity.
"In fact, he added, three years after succeeding his father, reforms he tried to introduce were met by stiff resistance from the ruling Baa’th Party old guard, all appointed by the late Hafez Asad".
Informed sources in Damascus revealed to Iran Press Service that prior to the arrival of Mr. Powell, the Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Farouq al Shara’ had "discretely" met on Wednesday with leaders of some hard line Palestinian organisations present in Syria, including the HAMAS and the Islamic Jihad of Palestine, asking them to keep "as low profile as possible".
"He told them to freeze their activities and they (Palestinians) would bow to the demand", one Palestinian source said, adding that "since they have no other choice, they have but to obey, also because, in my view, even Iran would not accept to shelter them".
"The Syrians are seriously worried. They had counted on a lasting conflict in Iraq, thinking, like their Iranian friends, that Baghdad would turn into another Stalingrad, but the rapid collapse of Saddam Hoseyn’s regime took them by surprise and now, theyr are certain that if they don’t’ comply, they would joint their eternal enemy next door", he said, referring to Iraq.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell confirmed on Saturday that Syria had
clamped down on militant Palestinian groups and urged both Damascus and Beirut
to do their parts to ensure success in the Middle East peace process.
"They did some closures. I expect them to do more with respect to access and appearances of various officials of these organisations," Powell told reporters in Beirut, when asked whether Syria had taken action against Palestinian factions.
The shutting down of the offices of HAMAS and the Islamic Jihad, the two main Palestinian hard line organisations supported by Iran and Syria was one of the requests Washington had from Syria for years, without ever getting anything more than vague promises from the Syrians.
"We've provided some other suggestions to the Syrians that they have taken under advisement, and I expect to hear back from them in the future", Mr. Powell said in Beirut, after having met the Syrian President on Saturday in Damascus.
Though he did not emphasised, but diplomatic sources said one of these "main suggestions was that Syria stop supporting the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hesbollah and also withdraw its forces, estimated at between 30.000 to 40.000 from Lebanon.
Powell made clear pressure would continue on Syria to cut its support for Hezbollah, which, after forcing Israel to leave parts of South Lebanon it had occupied for 22 years, continue to engage Israeli troops in a disputed border zone, encouraged by both Syrian and Its Iranian ally.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid, Powell said attacks by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah against targets in northern Israel must be stopped.
"We have emphasised strongly our concern about the continuing terrorist activities of Hezbollah, in the region and around the world", Powell said, adding that Syria could face sanctions under a Syria Accountability Act in the U.S. Congress, which condemns Syria's military presence in Lebanon.
As Powell readied to leave Beirut, police and opponents of Syria's domination of Lebanon clashed, trading blows with batons and pipes before police hauled away dozens of protesters. The protesters were largely Christian backers of exiled army general Michel Aoun, who led a doomed revolt against Syria late in Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
"It is easier for Syria to close Palestinian offices in Damascus that to stop supporting Hezbollah, for the organisation is it’s only bargaining card against Israel", the analyst said.
Stopping Syria to support Hezbollah also means that the Islamic Republic of Iran, which created, trained and financed the Shi’ite-based Organisation, would have difficulty in sending arms and ammunition to its surrogate via Damascus. "That would in fact suffocate the Hezbollah", one Lebanese journalist said.
Though noting official emerged from Powell-Asad talks, but informed sources said the State Secretary urged the young Syrian President to take out his forces from Lebanon, estimated at between 30.000 to 45.000, turning Lebanon into a de facto autonomous region of Syria.
Asad said he would consider the point of view Powell presented on every topic the two discussed, according to Powell.
Mr. Powell, who was visiting the region for the first time since the Coalition victory in neighbouring Iraq, said his message was that change in Iraq and the prospect of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians created a "new strategic dynamic" in the region.
Mr. Shara’ said Syria welcomes "with pleasure" the American Foreign Affairs Minister and accepts American ideas, but rejects any ultimatum.
However, Mr. Powell dismissed suggestions that Syria was next on any list of U.S. targets, saying: "The issue of war and hostilities is not on the table."
A State Department official with Powell said, "We didn't come here bearing carrots" when asked about any incentives for Syria to join Washington's plans for the region.
"The official said the U.S. message was the situation in the region had changed and "there are a lot of things that you ought to think about changing too, and if you do that, you'll have a better relationship with us", the British news agency Reuters quoted the unidentified official as having said.
Powell told reporters he has not forgotten his visit to the region two years ago, when Asad assured him Syria was not receiving oil from Iraq in violation of U.N. sanctions -- a claim that turned out not to be true.
"We want to focus on the future, with the emphasis on whether Syria would cooperate with a Middle East peace plan, or "road map," which international mediators gave to the Israelis and Palestinians this week", Powell said.
Damascus is keen to recover the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War.
Powell said the United States was committed to a comprehensive settlement including the Golan Heights and Lebanon but that this would not necessarily happen at the same pace as Israeli-Palestinian talks.
The road map for Middle East peace, developed by the United States, United Nations, Russia, and the European Union, "places obligations and responsibilities on all of the parties", Powell said. "We must see the end of terror and the end of violence".
Under the previous administration of President Bill Clinton, Washington was an active mediator between Israel and Syria. At that time, Washington almost secured a peace agreement, including an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War.
Mr. Shara’ said on Tuesday that he wished to see Syria and Lebanon to be also included in the "road map", a plan that Damascus had regarded with suspicions.
He also shed reserves about a separate peace agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, saying Syria would "accept whatever they (the Palestinians) would choose".
Powell said that in his "candid" discussions with Asad, he said that the Middle East peace concerns of Syria and Lebanon would be addressed in a separate document from the road map.
Diplomatic relations between Washington and Damascus reached a low point after the United States accused Syria of sheltering high-ranking Iraqi officials on the US’s "most wanted men", producing weapons of mass destruction, supporting terrorist organisations and obstructing peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
As a result, Syria closed its borders to all Iraqi and discreetly expelled Sajida Saddam, the wife of the now toppled Iraqi dictator and members of the family who had taken refuge in Syria with the start of the Coalition attack.
After the news conference in Beirut, Powell left for the United States but is to return to the region next week to begin work on the road map.
He will be holding his first talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, known informally as Abu Mazen, since the road map was published.
"Our commitment is firm, is unmistakable. We want to see a Palestinian state created", Powell said Saturday. "We've got to get going." ENDS SYRIA CORNERED 3503