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News, 26/03-02/04/03 (9) OUT IN THE STREETS * Tens of thousands protest * Huge anti-war march in Iran * Half a million Asian Muslims lead day of regional war protests * War protest turns Beijing sidewalk into podium of semi-free speech SYRIA AND IRAN WAIT THEIR TURN * Assad predicts defeat for invasion force * US force destroyed military bases, says Iran * Iran Says Rebels in Iraq Can Return if They Recant * Rumsfeld Warns Syria on Iraq Equipment * Syrians arrive in Mosul to fight for Iraq: Al-Jazeera * Syria says it supports "Iraqi people" against invaders * President Assad interviewed by Lebanese AlSafir newspaper * Mofaz warns Syria of Israeli might as regional tensions flare * Powell meets Israeli minister after warning Iraq's neighbours * Syria hits back at US, says it supports "Iraqi people" against invaders * Why are the Americans gunning for Syria? OUT IN THE STREETS http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=82338 * TENS OF THOUSANDS PROTEST Gulf News, 28th March Manama/Sanaa/Cairo/Washington: More than 10,000 Bahrainis crowded the street behind the United Nations yesterday in the biggest anti-war protest ever witnessed in the country. Seven top scholars had called for the peaceful demonstration. The protesters burnt American flags, a dummy of U.S. President George W. Bush and passed leaflets asking the public to boycott American and British products. "We declare the unity of Iraq, that it should not be divided on the basis or race or religion. We ask that Iraq should remain united as one country with Kurds, Shias and Sunnis living together," said a statement released by the scholars. Sheikh Saeed Al Noori told Gulf News that the push is for financial, solidarity and humanitarian support for the Iraqi civilians. However the Baath Party in Bahrain denounced the demonstration declaring it only supported Iraqi civilians. "We should support both civilians and the government. Both parties are fighting this gruesome war," said Mahmood Al Qassab. Bahrain witnessed a number of violent riots during the past week in front of the U.S. and British embassy. Both embassies remained closed yesterday. Meanwhile, tens of thousands rallied yesterday with placards in a square in the heart of the Yemeni capital Sanaa denouncing the Anglo-American aggression on Iraq and hailing the "heroic steadfastness" of the Iraqi people. Amid tightened security measures, senior politicians from President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling party and the opposition parties, spoke to the protesters condemning the war which they described as " an justified aggression" and that it goes against all the international law and resolutions. Abdul Kareem AlIryani , Saleh's political advisor, and Abdul Majeed Al Zandani, the spiritual father of the Islamic opposition party Islah also spoke. The police estimated 70,000 protesters were present while the organisers put the number at 300,000. Meanwhile, Dar Al Efta, authority of senior religious scholars, called the Yemeni people to fast yesterday and to pray to for Iraqi victory. And the Yemeni journalists syndicate called for a sit-in tomorrow in solidarity with the Iraqi people. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2895171.stm * HUGE ANTI-WAR MARCH IN IRAN BBC, 28th March Tens of thousands of people have marched through the Iranian capital, Tehran, in protest at the US-led war in Iraq. Demonstrators burnt US and British flags, and threw stones at the British embassy, smashing its windows. Thousands of anti-war protesters also took to the streets in cities across Jordan, with some chanting support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who has strongly opposed the war. In an interview with a Lebanese newspaper, Mr al-Assad said he hoped the US-led coalition would not succeed in defeating Iraq, and warned that Syria might be America's next target. There have also been large anti-war protests in other parts of the world, particularly in South Asia, following Muslim Friday prayers. The demonstrations in Iran were the first anti-war protests there since the start of the US led military action against Iraq last week. The BBC's Miranda Eeles, who is in Tehran, said thousands of Iranians chanted anti American slogans and carried banners saying "Bush is the new Hitler", as they made their way towards Revolution Square. At the square, effigies of US President George W Bush carrying an oil drum were held high and then ceremoniously burnt. There, one speaker called for the British embassy to be shut down, prompting hundreds of protesters to move on to the British embassy compound, where they threw stones and smashed its windows. Our correspondent says the rally reflected Iran's mixed feelings towards the war: Iranians feel little sympathy towards Saddam Hussein but they are suspicious of America's intentions. In Jordan, police fired tear gas and used batons to control crowds in several cities. Thousands of protesters staged anti-war rallies in the southern Islamist stronghold of Mann, with some demonstrators reportedly denouncing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as an American agent. In the western town of Salt, hundreds of people marched through the narrow streets, chanting slogans against the United States, Britain and the Gulf emirate of Kuwait, which has allowed coalition troops to invade Iraq from its territory. In an interview with the Lebanese as-Safir newspaper, the Syrian president said he doubted the US-led coalition will bring Iraq under its full control. "If the American-British designs succeed - and we hope they do not succeed and we doubt that they will - there will be Arab popular resistance, and this has begun," Mr al-Assad said. Elsewhere, some 20,000 Muslims protested against the war in India, while up to 2,000 anti war protesters took to the streets of Pakistan-administered Kashmir after Friday prayers. http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/ * HALF A MILLION ASIAN MUSLIMS LEAD DAY OF REGIONAL WAR PROTESTS LAHORE, Pakistan, March 30 (AFP) - An estimated half a million demonstrators marched in Asia's two largest Muslim-dominated countries on Sunday, as thousands of anti-war protesters across the rest of the region continued loudly calling for an end to the war in Iraq. Between 200,000 and 250,000 people gathered in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar in the biggest rally in the country to date. People began arriving in buses, trucks, tractors and horse-drawn carts for the "million march" organised by the Muttahida Majli-e-Amal (MMA), a six-party Islamic alliance. The rally blocked the key Peshawar-Islamabad highway for more than two kilometers (1.2 miles) as the protesters chanted slogans and burned effigies of US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair while demanding an immediate end of "aggression against innocent Iraqis." Children in military uniform carrying toy guns were among the marchers, as were protesters carrying posters of al-Qaeda terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. "The US is heading for a collapse, it will meet the same fate which the Soviet Union faced in Afghanistan," said MP Shabbir Ahmed from a makeshift stage set up for speakers to address the crowd. "We are confident the US humiliation will be worse than the Soviet Union. We will not sit at rest until the USA is disintegrated into pieces," he said. A similarly huge rally was held in downtown Jakarta Sunday as up to 300,000 mostly Muslim protesters staged what was also Indonesia's largest anti-war rally since hostilities in Iraq began almost two weeks ago. The protesters gathered in the sprawling Monas square facing the US embassy, guarded by police wielding batons and shields. Thousands more were streaming into the venue even as the organisers officially closed the rally at 11:00 am (0300 GMT), about 60 minutes after it started. No violence was reported. Speakers included Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) general secretary Dien Syamsuddin, National Assembly chairman Amien Rais and MUI chairman Hamidan, who uses one name. An older sister of President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Rachmawati, was also present as well as several religious leaders. In a landmark for China, authorities allowed the first open protests against the war Sunday. But the resulting scuffles between police and protesters appeared to play into the hands of officials who are keen to keep down protests for fear of civil unrest. Two carefully controlled protests early in the day, involving 100 students at the Beijing University campus and 200 foreigners at a park in Beijing's embassy district, proceeded without incident. But in a third demonstration, several arrests were made after scuffles broke out when dozens of protesters, mostly students, tried to march out of the capital's Chaoyang Park, where authorities had confined them to a small-scale rally far from public view. "In our country, there's not enough democracy, not enough human rights," said one student, commenting on the way the authorities handled the incident. In Seoul, the South Korean government's proposal to send troops to back US forces in Iraq was the focus of anger for about 20,000 union activists who rallied near the capital's National Assembly offices. The rally followed a candle-lit march Saturday by about 2,000 demonstrators around the US embassy. In Osaka about 2,500 mainly university students formed a human chain in Japanese characters spelling out "No War", and thousands of New Zealanders protested in a march through Auckland and a peace camp outside the US embassy in the capital Wellington. http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/ * WAR PROTEST TURNS BEIJING SIDEWALK INTO PODIUM OF SEMI-FREE SPEECH BEIJING, March 30 (AFP) - A stretch of Beijing sidewalk Sunday became a podium for ordinary Chinese residents to express themselves more freely than they have done for a long time about the Iraq war, the United States and their own government. At least 50 of them took part in a low-profile anti-war protest in a cordoned-off corner of the capital's Chaoyang Park and, as they were leaving, they were met at the gates by crowds of journalists. This was when the adrenalin and the words started flowing without inhibition, despite the massive presence of uniformed police ordering demonstrators and media to disperse. The protestors, mostly students, vented their anger at the way their demonstration -- cancelled at the last minute and then allowed to go ahead anyway -- was kept almost invisible from other Beijingers. "This is a perfectly normal demonstration," said a student demonstrator. "The whole world has had massive protests, so I don't know why we meet this reaction." One student outside the gates of the park repeatedly defied police orders to stop unfolding a green and red banner reading "Give Peace a Chance" in front of rolling TV cameras. He wrapped himself in the banner and started running down the sidewalk as police approached him, but officers eventually managed to wrestle it away from him. Several protesters were detained at the scene, including a man who was handing out photocopied anti-war statements to reporters. It was an odd crowd gathering outside the park, as student peaceniks and left-wing intellectuals were joined by senior citizens with Cold War views about the United States. One long-haired youngster was singing "Blowin' in the Wind" and other Vietnam-era protest songs while a bit further down the road a man in his 70s was recalling the first of America's Asian wars. "The United States is the enemy of the world," shouted the man, a veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War which cost China hundreds of thousands of lives. "Down with Bush, Bush is a bastard," he cried, referring to US President George W. Bush. The veteran, who was proudly showing a medal from the conflict that ended half a century ago, earned a thundering applause. Police, apparently aware of his hero status, decided to be soft on him, quietly urging him to leave. A leftist intellectual gathered a small audience as he spoke loudly and angrily about the need face the US challenge. "Chairman Mao dared to stand up to the Americans," he declared angrily. While anti-American rhetoric can still be heard in China, an increasingly capitalist, outwardly opened economy has pushed it towards the edges of the politically correct. Criticism of China's own government is as far beyond the pale as ever, but even that was voiced by some of the demonstrators. "In our country, there's not enough democracy, not enough human rights," said one student, seeing how police were keeping a lid on demonstrations outside the park. As the crowds started thinning, while the police in their black uniforms remained a very concrete lingering presence, some demonstrators appeared to be have second thoughts about their action. "I would have a bright future if I hadn't taken part in this demonstration. Now I've said some extreme things, and may have created problems," said one student. "I'm a little worried if I'm going to get arrested. I'm not sure it's been worth it," he said. SYRIA AND IRAN WAIT THEIR TURN http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,924269,00.html * ASSAD PREDICTS DEFEAT FOR INVASION FORCE by Jonathan Steele in Damascus The Guardian, 27th March Syria's President Bashar al-Assad yesterday became the first Arab leader, other than Saddam Hussein himself, to express the hope in public that the US and British forces invading Iraq would be defeated. In a front-page interview with Lebanon's as-Safir newspaper, he said they might be able to occupy Iraq but would not succeed in controlling it. "For sure, the United States is a superpower that can occupy a relatively small country ... The United States and Britain will not be able to control all of Iraq. There will be much tougher resistance," he said. "If the American-British designs succeed - and we hope they do not succeed and we doubt that they will - there will be Arab popular resistance, and this has begun," he added. Syria has been leading the Arab world in sharp attacks on what President Assad has repeatedly called "flagrant aggression". His latest remarks, which are the most radical so far, are a sign of the increasing militancy of the public mood, not only in the "Arab street" but also among decision-makers. Daily TV pictures of dead and wounded civilians have angered people across the Middle East while the unexpected level of Iraqi resistance has given many a sense of pride and solidarity. Hundreds of Iraqi exiles in Syria and Jordan have signed up to go home to fight, including many who oppose President Saddam but feel a patriotic need to rally to the country's defence. Religious leaders are also speaking out. While Iraqi Shia leaders called for opposition to the invasion earlier this week, Syria's senior cleric added his voice yesterday. Sheikh Ahmad Kiftaro, the Grand Mufti of Syria, called on all Muslims to resist the US and British invasion and sacrifice their lives as martyrs, if necessary. It was the duty of all Muslims to resist the US and British forces, he said. "All Muslims have to use all possible means of defeating the enemy, including martyrdom operations against the invading warriors." The mufti usually pronounces at Friday prayers but in the special statement issued by his office yesterday he also called on Muslims to boycott British and American goods. His radical statement has surprised western diplomats here, where he is considered a moderate and venerable figure. The British embassy was seeking urgent clarification yesterday on whether in addition to calling for resistance inside Iraq he meant to encourage suicide bombers to attack US and British targets in Syria and elsewhere. In Syria all protest demonstrations require government support and the capital has seen almost daily marches and sit-ins since the US and Britain launched their attack on Iraq. US and British flags have been burnt and protesters have tried to break through police lines to march on the American and British embassies. Close to 100,000 people took to the streets and government employees and university and school students were given time off to parade through Damascus on Tuesday in the largest protest in the Arab world since the war began. Some marchers carried banners denouncing the Egyptian and Jordanian heads of state with the slogans "Death to Mubarak" and "Death to Abdullah". Egypt has protested to Syria over the rally. It is only three months since President Assad was received in London on a visit which included tea with the Queen and was praised by President George Bush for voting for UN security council resolution 1441, which warned Iraq of serious consequences if it did not comply with UN weapons inspectors. Syria is the only Arab member on the council. Now Syria is leading the diplomatic resistance to the invasion, describing Arab governments which have supported it as "traitors". Its foreign minister, Farouk al-Shara, drafted the resolution at the Arab League meeting in Cairo on Monday which called for an "immediate and unconditional withdrawal" of US and British forces from Iraq and urged Arab states not to give logistical or other back-up to military action against it. The call was adopted by 15 foreign ministers. Only Kuwait expressed reservations. Syria's radical stance and its hope that the US gets bogged down in Iraq stem from anxiety that Syria may be next in line for US pressure if the Bush administration topples President Saddam. Asked whether he believed Syria would be next on Washington's target list, the President Assad answered: "The possibility is always there. As long as Israel exists, the threat is there." But he insisted that "worry does not translate into fear". "The real war will start after they remove Saddam Hussein," Adnan Omran, Syria's information minister, told the Guardian yesterday. "There will be more resistance, assassinations, kidnappings, bombs here and there. It's not Afghanistan. It'll be harder. It's Iraq. The sooner the Americans and British leave, the better." http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c =StoryFT&cid=1048313205868&p=1012571727172 * US FORCE DESTROYED MILITARY BASES, SAYS IRAN by Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran Financial Times, 27th March US forces attacked the main Iranian armed opposition group based in Iraq on Monday and destroyed two of its military bases, a senior Iranian official said yesterday. The People's Mujahideen Organisation (MKO), based in Iraq since the mid-1980s and financed and equipped by Saddam Hussein, is listed a terrorist group by the US State Department. The group seeks to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment and replace it by a "democratic republic". It has waged operations against Iranian civilians and assassinated Iranian officials since the 1980s. According to the State Department it also killed US military personnel and civilians working on defence projects in Tehran during 1970s. It also helped Baghdad to suppress the failed Shia uprising in 1991. The Iranian official said some MKO forces had left Iraq before the war, but that the organisation still had "some 600 to 700 military plus 500 logistical forces" in an area of eastern Iraq, bordering Iran. A successful US-led war in Iraq would almost certainly end MKO's life as an armed force. Hossein Rassam, a senior Iranian analyst, said: "Even if they decide to act as a political group to survive, then they would lose all their strength as an opposition group and wouldn't have much to say." There has been speculation in Iran that despite hostility between Washington and Tehran, the two countries have tacitly co-operated to remove each other's concerns along Iran's borders during the war. Since the start of the war three stray missiles have hit Iran's western border towns of Abadan, Sardasht and Qasr-e-Shirin. [.....] http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=2469085 * IRAN SAYS REBELS IN IRAQ CAN RETURN IF THEY RECANT Reuters, 28th March DUBAI : Iran has told Iraq-based rebels they can return home if they voice regret for their "crimes" against the Islamic Republic, a government spokesman said. "With respect to this group in Iraq (People's Mujahideen), we are serious in implementing this decision. The Islamic Republic of Iran, out of pity, gave them this new chance," Intelligence Ministry spokesman Ahmad Rahimi told Dubai-based Al Arabiya television in a telephone interview broadcast on Friday. "We guarantee their life and will not arrest them although there are some people who committed special crimes inside and outside Iran. If they voice regret for what they did and do not repeat these mistakes, then we will help them solve the problem and lead a respectable life in their country," he said. Alireza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for the Mujahideen in Washington, said: "This is the most ridiculous thing I have heard from an official of the regime." The Iranian government should first hold free and fair elections, free political prisoners, end torture and abandon its support for "terrorism," he told Reuters. Iran has in the past raided Mujahideen camps in Iraq in retaliation for cross-border attacks or bombings in the rebels' campaign to topple Iran's Islamic government. Rahimi said the offer came after families of the Mujahideen asked for help following the start of the U.S.-led war in Iraq. "They are living a crisis now in Iraq and they do not know what their fate will be after the war ends," he said. Iraqi Kurdish groups have said the Mujahideen might fight alongside Iraqi forces against invading U.S. and British forces. The Mujahideen have denied that. Iraqi support for the Mujahideen and Iran's backing for Iraqi Shi'ite dissidents have been a major obstacle to efforts by the two neighbors to normalize ties. Iran publicly opposes the U.S.-led war on Iraq, against which it fought a 1980-1988 war. The Mujahideen figures on a list of "terrorist organizations " compiled by Washington, which also accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20030328/ap_o n_re_mi_ea/war_us_military_294 * RUMSFELD WARNS SYRIA ON IRAQ EQUIPMENT by Matt Kelley Yahoo, 28th March WASHINGTON (AP): Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld issued a stern warning to Syria on Friday to stop sending military equipment to Iraqi forces, saying such shipments have included night-vision goggles. "We consider such trafficking as hostile acts and will hold the Syrian government accountable for such shipments," Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing. "There's no question but that to the extent that military supplies or equipment or people are moving across the borders between Iraq and Syria, it vastly complicates our situation," Rumsfeld said. Asked if the United States was threatening military action against Syria, Rumsfeld said: "I'm saying exactly what I'm saying. It was carefully phrased." "We have information that shipments of military supplies have been crossing the border from Syria into Iraq, including night-vision goggles," he said. "These deliveries pose a direct threat to the lives of coalition forces," the defense secretary said. Syrian President Bashar Assad has described the military action as "clear occupation and a flagrant aggression against a United Nations member state." Syria is the only Arab country currently on the U.N. Security Council. When asked if the shipments from Syria were "state sponsored," Rumsfeld said he wouldn't answer because "it's an intelligence issue." "They control their border," he added. "We're hoping that kind of thing doesn't happen." Syrian officials were not immediately available for comment. [.....] http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/ * SYRIANS ARRIVE IN MOSUL TO FIGHT FOR IRAQ: AL-JAZEERA DOHA, March 30 (AFP) - Syrian volunteers have arrived in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to fight for Saddam Hussein's regime against the US and British invaders, Al-Jazeera television reported Sunday. The station's correspondent in Mosul said an unknown number had crossed into Iraq by unknown routes but without passing through established border posts. It showed pictures of them brandishing weapons and portraits of Saddam. "Come to the land of the Arabs in Iraq and fight for Islam with your souls," one of them shouted. "You talk of missiles, tanks and bombs but it is our faith which will challenge the unbelievers." http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/news_show.phtml?id=1251&search=&find= * SYRIA SAYS IT SUPPORTS "IRAQI PEOPLE" AGAINST INVADERS DAMASCUS, March 31 (AFP) - Syria said Monday it had chosen to support the Iraqi people against the "illegal" US-British invasion of Iraq, following a new warning against Damascus from US Secretary of State Colin Powell. "Syria has chosen to align itself with the brotherly Iraqi people who are facing an illegal and unjustified invasion and against whom are being committed all sorts of crimes against humanity," a foreign ministry spokesman said. Powell said Sunday that "Syria now faces a critical choice." "Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam Hussein, or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course," he said. "Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its choices, and for the consequences." Powell, who also warned Iran, said that as part of its "overall strategy in combating terrorism," Washington was "demanding more responsible behavior" from "states that do not follow acceptable patterns of behavior." Washington considers both Syria and Iran state sponsors of terrorism. The Syrian spokesman retorted that "Mr. Powell, like the whole world, knows that Syria has chosen to be with international legitimacy represented by the United Nations and the Security Council, whose role its to preserve world peace and security." Syria, one of the rotating non-permanent members of the Security Council, "has chosen to be with the international consensus which has said no to aggression against Iraq, the bombardments of cities, the massacre of innocent civilians, the destruction of houses, power plants and water stations," the statement went on. Noting that Powell was speaking to an influential pro-Israeli lobby group, , the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the statement said he was clearly "affirming that all the actions of the US administration in the region serve Israeli interests and plans and satisfy Ariel Sharon," the Israeli prime minister." "The officials of this administration are thereby obtaining good conduct certificates from Israel and its supporters in the United States," it added. Syria, the only Arab country on the UN Security Council, fought Washington's determination to launch a war on Iraq, and made clear its bitterness when it failed. Relations were already fraught since March 12, when Powell accused Syria of developing weapons of mass destruction and called its military presence in Lebanon an "occupation." Although Syria is not included in US President George W. Bush's "axis of evil", which groups Iran, Iraq and North Korea, it is still on the State Department's list of countries supporting terrorism and fears that it may be next on the list for Washington's attentions after Iraq. http://www.syrialive.net/Media/news/2003/032803President%20Assad%20interview ed%20by%20Lebanese%20AlSafir%20newspaper.htm * PRESIDENT ASSAD INTERVIEWED BY LEBANESE ALSAFIR NEWSPAPER Syrialive.net, 28th March President Bashar al-Assad received the Lebanese daily alSafir Editor-In-Chief and gave him an interview. With regard to the historic perspective of the war on Iraq and with regard to what US. Secretary of State Colin Powell recent statement that the war aims at reshaping the Middle East as a whole ,the president indicated that the Arabs looked with sadness at Saykis-Bicot Agreement which partitioned the region and we dealt with it as a temporary event. The Arabs ,the president added had similarly felt sad when Palestine was occupied in 1948,but we did not know that the occupation was planned by the Zionist Congress in the 19 century. President al-Assad pointed out that what is going in Iraq was planned before and the Iraqi and the Palestinian issues are inseparable as far as the US. administration and the Zionist lobby within this administration are concerned. The president added that the historical aspect of invasion includes the interests of the major powers, the mistakes of the Arabs and the interests of the Israeli enemy. He underlined that the aggressors have removed their masks declaring that they want the oil and tailoring the region in line with the Israeli interests so that when Iraq is partitioned to sectarian and ethnic cantons ,Israel will gain legal status socially In his reply to a question that the overall Arab order seems involved in the war against Iraq because the war is being launched from Arab territories, using Arab territorial waters and airspace as well as an Arab cover, in contrast to the Syrian position, the president indicated that Syriašs view points are based on experience and Syriašs experience with Lebanon is well known and Lebanon can be considered as the first real and actual experience for all the Arabs. President al-Assad went on to say that when Lebanon began resistance it was a small divided country and there were declared agents such as Southern Lebanonšs Army, and those who contributed to Beirut occupation ,as wellas those who worked hard to conclude 17 of May Agreement . But Israel emerged defeated then. The president underlined that Iraq is a major country that has big scientific ,material and human potentials whereby what Lebanon had achieved can at least be achieved and at most more can be achieved . The president underlined that Syria was not surprised at the Iraqi resistance because Syria supported the Lebanese resistance and contributed to liberation of most of part of Lebanon from the Israeli occupation ,but the situation in Palestine is different because the Palestinian citizen has been encircled . The president stressed that although some Arab countries have contributed more to the quelling of the Intifada than Israel, yet when the people decide to resist you can have clear results and one can see the results of two and half year of the Intifada on Israel. He indicated that such being the fact, the United States can occupy a relatively small country but the question is whether it can take control of that country . There will be a lot more resistance and this will refute the allegations of some of the Arab officials who tried intentionally or unintentionally to depict a different reality from the current situation. In reply to a question regarding the repercussions of war on the region, President alAssad indicated that right from the very beginning Syria has warned that the war would lead the Arabs to the unknown and the repercussions depend on the peoplešs reactions which have so far have taken the direction of steadfastness and resistance. The president underlined that if the US. plot succeeds there will be Arab popular resistance which has actually started. President al-Assad stressed that the first lesson the Iraqi citizen has learnt is that leaving his country means leaving it for good and therefore the only solution is resistance and following the example of the Intifada. As regard the Iranian position ,the president stressed that there has always been coordination and consultation between Syria and the Iranians . The Iranian position is very clear and what the Iranians say they commit themselves to it and this a very important point. Regarding President alAssad latest visit to Britain , the president underlined that the visit aimed at underlining the importance of the implementation of the Security Council resolutions to prevent the war on Iraq since Syria is a member of the Security Council and that dialogue with Britain was important at that time regardless of agreement or disagreement. Concerning relations with Turkey, President alAssad underlined that bilateral relations have gained momentum in recent years but by the recent visit of Turkeyšs Former Prime Minister of the current government ,Abdullah Gul to Syria the standing bilateral relations have gained special momentum particularly after the Iraqi question was raised. There was agreement that the Iraqi issue imposes a common threat to neighboring countries. The president underlined that the Turkish refusal to allow the American to attack Iraq from the north was the result of the common vision of Syria and Turkey . Syria knows very well that the majority of the Turkish people are against the war. Regarding if Syria is threatened by this war ,President alAssad underlined that as long as Israel remain in existence the threat remains standing and as long there is a war next door the danger remains standing . Concerning a question whether Syria is capable of deterring such a threat ,the president indicated that militarily Syria may be weaker than a superpower but the issue is the issue of land and land is Syriašs land . There is no balance between an American and an Iraqi yet the Iraqi people are courageously defending their land. President al-Assad underlined that at the recent Arab summit he announced that this time not only Baghdad would be involved in the war like what had happened at the time of the moguls invasion but other Arab countries will be involved as well. The president indicated that the US. invasion provides a cover for the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. With regard to a question regarding the Syriašs stance of the Israeli-Arab conflict the president underlined that there is no country doesnšt agree with Syriašs position that calls for the withdrawal of the Israeli troops to the line of 1967,and the implementation of the Security Council resolutions. But Syria should be prepared for any Israeli attack. And this what Syria has always done throughout history. Concerning Syriašs support to Iraq, the president underlined that the Iraqi officials previously announced that they do not need any military assistant from any country but what they need at least is political support. As for Syria-Saudi Arabia-Egypt axis, President Al-Assad pointed out that there are contacts on bilateral levels but last summit of the three countries was in Sharmu-Sheikh last may but consultations are going on with Egypt and Saudi Arabia and other countries as well. As regard the development of the private sector in Syria the president indicated that the private sector will be improved through the lawa that encourage investment and activate the economic activities and Syria is preparing a new tax law whereby many problems that hinder investment in Syria will be solved. http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/news_show.phtml?id=1256&search=&find= * MOFAZ WARNS SYRIA OF ISRAELI MIGHT AS REGIONAL TENSIONS FLARE JERUSALEM, April 1 (AFP) - Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz on Tuesday threw down a warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad about the might of the Jewish state as tensions between the two neighbours rose. "President Bashar al-Assad knowns the might and the force of Israel in all areas, including the military," said Mofaz. Mofaz was reacting to remarks made by the Syrian leader to the Lebanese daily al-Safir last week that "as long as Israel exists, the threat (against) Israel will exist". "These remarks are all the more serious as they come at a time when it transpires that the Syrians are helping Iraq, as US leaders have revealed," said Mofaz. On Monday, a senior Israeli army intelligence officer charged that Iraqi missiles, possibly armed with chemical and biological warheads, may be hidden in Syria. General Yossi Kupperwasser's remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Colin Powell warned both Syria and Iran to stop what he called their backing for terrorists, saying Syria in particular faces a "critical choice." "Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam Hussein, or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course," Powell said. Last Friday US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned the two states to steer clear of the Iraq war, saying that military supplies allegedly crossing from Syria were a "hostile act". In December, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he had information indicating that Iraq had transferred weapons of mass destruction to Syria. The Israeli daily Haaretz said Tuesday that "in the last few days Damascus has expedited the passge of volunteers wishing to join the Iraqis in their war against the Americans". Despite the US warnings not to align itself with Iraq, a spokesman for the Syrian foreign ministry swore support for the Iraqi people against the invaders. "Syria has chosen to align itself with the brotherly Iraqi people who are facing an illegal and unjustified invasion and against whom are being committed all sorts of crimes against humanity," the spokesman said. Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa on Monday voiced concern that the Iraq war could spill over and destabilise the entire Middle East. http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/news_show.phtml?id=1256&search=&find= * POWELL MEETS ISRAELI MINISTER AFTER WARNING IRAQ'S NEIGHBOURS WASHINGTON, March 31 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday held talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom hours after warning Syria and Iran, key neighbours of Iraq, to end support for terrorism. While US leaders sought to head off suggestions of divisions over war strategy, the talks came as Powell prepared to embark on a trip to Turkey and the NATO headquarters in Brussels to seek support for the US-led war in Iraq. The secretary of state issued a strong warning to Syria and Iran in a speech late Sunday. "It is now time for the entire international community to step up and insist that Iran end its support for terrorists, including groups violently opposed to Israel and to the Middle East peace process," Powell said. "Tehran must stop pursuing weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them," he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential Jewish lobby group. "Syria now faces a critical choice," he added. "Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam Hussein, or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course. Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its choices, and for the consequences." Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday told Iran and Syria not to interfere in the Iraq war. He accused Iran of allowing hundreds of Iraqi Shiite Muslim rebels to cross the Iraqi border, and Syria of allowing military supplies to be shipped across its borders to Iraq. Syria and Iran strenuously denied the charges. Syria responded to Powell's warning by reaffirming its support for the Iraqi people against the US-British invasion. "Syria has chosen to align itself with the brotherly Iraqi people who are facing an illegal and unjustified invasion and against whom are being committed all sorts of crimes against humanity," a foreign ministry spokesman said. An Iranian government spokesman said Powell's accusations were a result of the US failures in the war. "The US forces' failures in Iraq have made them aim their propaganda accusations against Iran time and again," government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh said, according to the IRNA state news agency. Powell couched his warnings Sunday as "part of our overall strategy in combatting terrorism and dealing with states that do not follow acceptable patterns of behavior." In his speech, he also evoked Washington's visions for a larger role in the Middle East beyond the war in Iraq. Powell will start a 48 hour trip to Turkey and NATO early Tuesday, State Department officials said Monday. [.....] http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/news_show.phtml?id=1256&search=&find= * SYRIA HITS BACK AT US, SAYS IT SUPPORTS "IRAQI PEOPLE" AGAINST INVADERS Haaveru Daily (Maldives), 1st April DAMASCUS - Syria said Monday it had chosen to support the Iraqi people against the "illegal" US-British invasion of Iraq, following a new warning against Damascus from US Secretary of State Colin Powell. "Syria has chosen to align itself with the brotherly Iraqi people who are facing an illegal and unjustified invasion and against whom are being committed all sorts of crimes against humanity," a foreign ministry spokesman said. In the latest shot in the growing war of words between the two countries over Iraq, Powell said Sunday that "Syria now faces a critical choice. Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam Hussein, or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course. "Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its choices, and for the consequences." Powell, who also warned Iran, said that as part of its "overall strategy in combating terrorism," Washington was "demanding more responsible behavior" from "states that do not follow acceptable patterns of behavior." Washington considers Syria and Iran state sponsors of terrorism, and though Syria is not included with Iran, Iraq and North Korea on President George W. Bush's "axis of evil", it fears it is already being lined up for US attention after Iraq. The Syrian spokesman said Powell, "like the whole world, knows that Syria has chosen to be with international legitimacy represented by the United Nations and the Security Council whose role its to preserve world peace and security." Syria, one of the rotating non-permanent members of the Security Council, "has chosen to be with the international consensus which has said no to aggression against Iraq, the bombardments of cities, the massacre of innocent civilians, the destruction of houses, power plants and water stations," the statement went on. Noting that Powell was speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), it said he was clearly "affirming that all the actions of the US administration in the region serve Israeli interests and plans and satisfy Ariel Sharon," the Israeli prime minister." "The officials of this administration are thereby obtaining good conduct certificates from Israel and its supporters in the United States," it added. Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara told parliament at the weekend that "Syria's interest is to see the invaders defeated in Iraq," according to Monday's official press. "The resistance of the Iraqis is extremely important," he said. "It is a heroic resistance to the US-British occupation of their country." Shara said Washington justified its attack on Iraq as a war of "liberation and preservation of democracy and human rights, while it is killing and destroying." US and British troops "have been shocked by the welcome from the Iraqis, who have not received them with flowers but protests against their deceitful slogans and a fierce resistance," he added. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday that "we have information of shipments of military supplies crossing the border from Syria into Iraq." The deliveries, which he said included night vision goggles, "pose a direct threat to the lives of coalition forces," Rumsfeld charged. "We consider such trafficking as hostile acts and will hold the Syrian government accountable." He declined to say whether the Syrian government was behind the shipments, but stressed: "They control their border. We're hopeful that kind of thing does not happen again. [.....] http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/02_04_03_f.asp * WHY ARE THE AMERICANS GUNNING FOR SYRIA? Lebanon Daily Star, 2nd April Arab papers sound the alarm about soaring tensions between the United States and Syria, after three senior members of the Bush administration took turns to issue thinly veiled threats to Damascus, telling it to fall into line with US policy in the Middle East or else face unspecified consequences. Commentators see the outpouring of bellicose rhetoric from Washington as a shot across Syria's bows, following its emergence as the most vocal regional critic of the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq, and the only country in the area to openly applaud the Iraqis' dogged resistance to the invasion. But many also warn that it could mean that Syria is being granted belated membership of America's "axis of evil" and set up as its next prospective target after Iraq, in furtherance of both the administration's strategy for global dominance and the agenda and territorial designs of its right-wing allies in Israel. First came Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's surprise outburst, in which he accused Syria of providing night-vision goggles and other military or "dual-use" equipment to Iraq, and served notice that "we consider such trafficking as hostile acts, andwill hold the Syrian government accountable for such shipments." Rumsfeld added a warning to Iran and the anti-Saddam Iraqi Shiite rebels it backs, advising them that if they cross the border back into their own country then US troops there will treat them as"combatants" and a "potential threat to coalition forces." This was reinforced by Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech to a conference of AIPAC, Israel's main lobbying organization in the US, in which he spoke of the "critical choice" facing Damascus. "Syria can continue to direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam Hussein, or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course. Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its choices, and the consequences," he declared to loud applause. Powell also turned on Iran, demanding a halt to its "support for terrorists, including groups violently opposed to Israel" and its purported quest for weapons of mass destruction, and pledging US backing for "the aspirations of the Iranian people." Powell was followed by Undersecretary of State John Bolton, who told the same AIPAC gathering that Syria, Iran and also Libya were all seeking weapons of mass destruction, and that he hoped the invasion of Iraq would convince them to "back off." He added pointedly that "I don't think any of us are naive enough to think the example of Iraq alone will be sufficient." Bolton said Washington was "keeping a close watch on Syria" for any signs of "nuclear weapons intent" and charged that it had stocks of chemical weapons and was pursuing a biological capability. The Beirut daily As-Safir points out that all these American signals were subsequently "interpreted" by the Israelis themselves, whose chief military intelligence researcher, Yossi Kupferwasser, came up with renewed allegations that Syria has been concealing proscribed weapons on Iraq's behalf, coupled with recommendations that the Americans should put Damascus and Hizbullah next on their hit list after they're done with "regime change" in Baghdad. According to Syrian sources quoted by As-Safir, the view in Damascus is that the US and Britain have embroiled themselves in a fight in Iraq that "will last for months." They contemptuously dismissed warnings about what they were letting themselves in for, and plunged recklessly into an invasion of the country "in compliance with Israeli doctrines and incitement." Arab newspapers note that in replying formally to Powell, Damascus threw his remarks about it bearing "responsibility for its choices" back at him. A Foreign Ministry spokesman retorted that Syria was indeed responsible for its choices, "and Mr. Powell knows that she has chosen to support international legality as represented by the UN and the Security Council, and its role in preserving international peace and security. Syria has chosen to support the worldwide official and popular consensus that said no to aggression against Iraq She has also chosen to stand by the fraternal Iraqi people who are facing an illegal and unjustified aggression in which they are being subjected to all kinds of crimes against humanity." These sentiments are echoed by Al-Baath, daily paper of Syria's ruling party, which sees Powell's remarks as evidence that Washington's military adventure in the region is in large measure a proxy war being fought on Israel's behalf, and is not confined to Iraq "Ever since the US administration revealed that its objective is to reshape the Middle East's political structure, it has been clear that it is embarking on a rolling undeclared war against the countries of the region," the paper states in its main editorial. "It set the stage for it by deeming all resistance to be terrorism, and effectively recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's eternal and unified capital and treating the West Bank and Gaza Strip as spoils of war. The idea is for this to culminate in the Arab-Israeli conflict being deconstructed and the fraternal relationship between Syria and Lebanon meddled with, after the process of occupying Iraq has been completed," it says. Accordingly, while bombing Iraq, Washington has been threatening its neighbors and fellow Arabs by levelling "preemptive accusations" at them. The Americans do not only a want a "devastated Iraq" but also a cowed region that does their bidding, hence their refusal to tolerate any expression of sympathy with the Iraqi people as they bring them "freedom on the back of a tank," Al-Baath says. It also wonders how the US can continue trying to claim that the war has noting to do with Israel, when Powell chose an AIPAC podium from which to mouth his threats against Damascus. "Syria stands up for itself and its (pan-Arab) nation when it rejects the latest episode of aggression in the region; but the US shrinks to Israel's stature when it throws itself into a new occupation enterprise that is inconsistent with either the spirit of the times or the principles of law and justice," Al-Baath writes. In other editorial comment, Qatar's Al-Sharq finds it puzzling that the US should choose to open verbal fire on Syria before it has settled its battle in Iraq. "Is this the right timing, or has the US administration been pushed prematurely into opening a new front" in its war? the paper asks. Other questions also come to mind, it says. Did Syria somehow learn that "its turn will be next in the current American war on Iraq," and opt to up the verbal ante in the hope of preempting that? Are Israeli claims about Iraqi WMDs having been transferred to Syria based on real information, or just part of a drive to turn up the heat on Damascus? And why didn't the Iranians respond to the comparable threats that the Americans levelled at them as vehemently as the Syrians did, seeing as Iran is also on the Bush administration's hit list? "These questions boil down to one," Al-Baath suggests. "Have the American and Syrian sides really opted for a showdown? In other words, has the former's need for the latter, in all sorts of areas that Washington has talked about in the past, been abandoned, with such speed and at such a highly delicate juncture, while the fate of the war on Iraq remains far from decided?" As the UAE daily Al-Khaleej perceives things, Rumsfeld and Powell have been saying aloud what junior figures in the administration have been whispering for some time - namely, "That Syria will be the next target of the new colonial onslaught that began in Iraq." The paper sees Powell's remarks as particularly "grave." He made them to AIPAC, implying a commitment to the Zionist lobby that wields great influence in the White House, and accompanied them with fresh pledges of support for Israel, which on the same day engaged in renewed "incitement" against Syria by accusing it of taking delivery of proscribed Iraqi weapons. "Just as destroying Iraq and preventing it from standing on its feet for decades to come is a Zionist objective, which the US and Britain are undertaking to realize, in spite of the entire world, Syria is similarly targeted" because it stands up to Israeli expansionism, as is Lebanon by association. "If Syria and Lebanon were to be targeted after Iraq, that would bring everlasting comfort to the war criminals who raped Palestine, enabling the tripartite American-British-Israeli alliance to settle the Arab-Zionist conflict by eliminating the Palestinian cause, the Golan Heights and the Shebaa Farms, and the Israeli octopus to extend its tentacles in any direction it pleases," the UAE paper warns. That is what the Americans mean when they predict that the war on Iraq will "reshape" the entire Middle East, Al-Khaleej says. Egyptian columnist Assayed Zahra says the US message to Syria can be summed up in a single sentence: "Either you support the aggression, or you yourselves will become targets of aggression." Writing for the Bahrain daily Akhbar al-Khaleej, Zahra states that the Americans began by claiming that Syria was sending aid and material to Iraq such as night-vision goggles. "Even if this were true, it would not have been a crime other than by America's designation. But it was demonstrated that what they said was just another of their innumerable lies," he remarks. Zahra says one reason the Americans are menacing Syria is in deference to the Zionist lobby, which "conceives and directs" the Bush administration's Middle East policy, was the chief driving force behind the invasion of Iraq, and is fighting hard for Syria and Lebanon to be targeted next in order to destroy all remaining bastions of resistance to Israel's occupation of Arab territory. The second reason is that Syria opted to condemn the invasion of Iraq unequivocally and "without beating about the bush," he explains. "It chose to stand by the Iraqi people's resoluteness and resistance without reservations or conditions. The invaders don't want any Arab country to dare even condemn the aggression in public, or any Arab government to dare even praise the steadfastness of a fellow Arab people. They would not have dared think and act in this way themselves had not the vast majority of Arab governments opted for ignominious silence. "That is why - because of the disgraceful position taken by most Arab governments. Syria won't be the first or the last of them to be threatened with aggression. But, in any case, the stand taken by Syria and its leadership deserves to be saluted and commended," says Zahra. Reflecting on developments on the ground in Iraq, Ameen Qammouriyeh writes in the Beirut daily An-Nahar that the Americans have five options now that their march on Baghdad has been blunted. They can wait for reinforcements and then proceed to flatten the Iraqi capital. They can lay siege to it until it implodes from within, exposing their forces out in the desert to attacks by tribesmen. They can leave Baghdad alone and concentrate on controlling the northern and southern oil fields, which is what they are mainly after. They can encourage the Kurds and Shiites to rebel and promise to help them set up separate enclaves And they can "reverse the strategic blunder that the Pentagon planners made" and "pull out of the Iraqi quagmire." Qammouriyeh writes that while the latter option is by far the most preferable for everyone concerned, and is still theoretically possible, "Bush will never do it." Instead, he will "continue waging war on Iraq and on everyone else who disagrees with him and his policies." The outcome, he predicts, will be a series of "mini-wars spawned by the big war, some of them American-made and others blowing up in America's face. For Iraq is like a Pandora's Box. Once you open it, you unlock the gates of hell from Turkey to Saudi Arabia and from Egypt to Pakistan." This is guaranteed to turn the Islamic world into a "sea of hostility" to the US, matched only by the resentment felt toward Israel, which will find expression in ways that may sometimes be organized but will more often take the form of indiscriminate violence against Americans. This to a backdrop of worldwide fear and loathing of the US, which is likely to prompt other countries to join forces in order to protect themselves against America's addiction to force and its contempt for international law. The upshot, Qammouriyeh predicts, will be an America that is "mighty in terms of treasures and weapons, but completely isolated and friendless." _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk