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| "No one in our area calls it terrorism. They are talking about freedom," Assad |
Posted on 05/11/2003 7:38:47 PM PDT by miltonim
Palestinian Resistance Not Terrorism: Assad
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with a U.S. weekly magazine to be published this week that the Palestinian resistance movements are not "involved in terrorist activities."
Speaking to the mass-circulation Newsweek, Assad said all the Arabs support the Palestinians and send them money.
"You cannot stop that. No one in our area calls it terrorism. They are talking about freedom."
On U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's demand to close the offices of some Palestinian resistance groups operating from Damascus, the Syrian Pesident said they do not have offices but "houses where these groups do media activities. We spoke with Powell about all these activities."
Asked whether or not these "offices" were involved in "directing terrorist operations," Assad said one can "consider these offices to be involved in terrorist activities, but they are not."
"There are differences in priorities between us and the U.S. administration. When Secretary Powell talked about the offices, we asked him to talk about all the issues concerning our two countries in a package … Our priority is to restore our territory," he said in reference to the occupied Golan Heights.
"I talked with Mr. Powell about stopping activities not closures. The Palestinians have information offices and can appear on TV. But restricting them is related to the Golan—to resuming the peace talks on the Syrian track."
Asked that former Israeli premier Barak risked his career in an effort to make peace, but Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat turned the offer down, Assad said they "both made mistakes."
On the U.S.-backed Mideast roadmap peace plan, Assad dismissed reports that Syria was trying to spoil the nascent plan.
"We don’t have any relations with Palestinians ... so we are not able to spoil. I can talk about the concept: for the last two years, they talked about security before a political solution.
"[But if] you get a political solution [that] doesn’t satisfy all parties, you won’t have security. You should first have the political solution. We won’t interfere. Our concern is the Golan," he said.
False Accusations
On the U.S. stance on Hezbollah, Assad said that Syria will support them "as long as they don’t do any terrorist acts."
Assad dismissed as "false" U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage's accusation of the resistance movement as being "a team of terror."
"That’s false. They have not killed anyone outside of Lebanon where their land is occupied."
Assad asserted that they do not get arms via Syria, adding that "we give them political support because they want to get back their lands."
Assad further said that Syria is working without tiring to enhance relations with the U.S., arguing that "cooperation in combating terrorism is evidence."
On the Israeli accusations that Assad is "more extreme" than his father, he said that "It’s just a lie," adding that "the mood in the region changed" when the second Palestinian Intifada erupted.
"I became president in July 2000. In September of that year, the Intifada started. The mood in the region changed ... It seemed as if the Israelis did not want peace. It was not that we changed our mind about peace."
On the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, Assad said the presence of the Syrian army inn Lebanon is "related to a peace treaty, to a complete [Israeli] withdrawal."
He said the Israelis didn’t withdraw completely from Lebanon, arguing that "they still occupy Shebaa Farms."
On May 3, Powell denounced "anti-Israeli" groups and called for the Lebanese army to end Hezbollah's presence on the Israeli border.
Sharon Cannot Be Trusted
Assad further said that he does not trust Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon because "he definitely doesn’t want to make peace."
"Nobody trusts Sharon, not only me. None of the officials that I have met say that he wants peace,"
Asked about reports on secret meetings between a Syrian official and an Israeli over starting up peace negotiations, Assad said neither now nor in the future "will Syrian engage in secret negotiations."
"This is the Israeli way—they try to make it appear as if Syria is working in secrecy. Why should we create back channels? This does not give you popular support … which is very important if you are engaged in a peace process."
Assad said that negotiations with the Israelis need a basis, which is, in the Syrian case, Madrid Conference, noting that the Syrian-Israeli peace talks made considerable strides during the era of late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.
"The important thing for us is to restore our territory completely, and this is guaranteed in [United Nations] Security Council resolutions. If any Israeli government is ready to engage on these terms and restore our territory, we have no problem," he said.
'Nobody Is Sorry For Saddam's Ouster'
The Syrian president further said that "nobody is sorry" that toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had become history.
"It’s good that he’s gone ... but [the outcome] should be better," he said.
He asserted that the Syrian regime was not close to toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, pointing out that his country did not have an embassy in Baghdad.
"I never met him or talked with him on the phone…But we had economic relations with Iraq [in reference to the Iraqi oil]."
On the U.S. accusations that Syria allowed weapons to go to Iraq, Assad said this "is not correct."
"Arms were smuggled into Iraq by individuals; the government had nothing to do with it," he underlined.
Assad further asserted some of the former Iraqi officials came to the Syrian orders, but "they weren’t allowed to come in. Some of them were captured by the Americans."
He added that the Syrian authorities only allowed some families of Iraqi officials to come to Syria, women and children.
On the issue of Arab volunteers, who went to Iraq to fight off the U.S.-led troops, Assad said those volunteers went through unsealed borders, stressing that "the government of Syria had no relation with these volunteers."
"We only have two official checkpoints from which you can enter Iraq, but the border is 500 kilometers. How can you close it? I told Mr. Powell, 'You have an army; you control it.'"
Asked if he trusted Powell when he said there are no plans for U.S. military actions against Syria, Assad said: "yes, Powell is the rational wing [of the Bush administration]."
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| "No one in our area calls it terrorism. They are talking about freedom," Assad |
A work-strike is resistance, a protest picket and boycott is resistance, a mass letter writting campaign, passing out protest flyers, holding rallys is resistance.
Planting bombs or supporting in any way those who plant bombs or the families of those who plant bombs, to kill kids on school buses, teen-agers at a dance-hall, celebrants at a wedding, or shoppers at a store are terrorists!
That's the straight truth, anything else is an outright twisting of the truth to a propaganda lie Pres. Ass-ad!
A very DANGEROUS thing to do with Walker Texas Ranger in the White House.
Nobody will be sorry when he's gone either.
BZZZZZT Oh I'm sorry Bashar, wrong answer. But just so you won't feel like a complete loser, we'd like you to take home this fine set of consolation prizes: The 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and this king-size can of Whoop Ass all with our compliments.
--Boot Hill
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