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-Caveat Lector-
Special Dispatch - Iraq/Syria
November 26, 2002
No. 443
To view this Special Dispatch in HTML format, please visit:
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD44302.
Syria's Foreign Minister to Egyptian Weekly: The "No-Fly Zones" are Illegitimate;
Syria Voted for UN Resolution 1441 to Strengthen the Washington Peace Camp; American
Policy is Tyrannical
The following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq
Al-Shar'. The interview, conducted by Sanaa Al-Sa'id, appeared in the Egyptian
opposition weekly Al-Usbu':(1)
Islamic Jihad H.Q. in Damascus Will Not Be Closed
Question: "Colin Powell recently criticized Syria and defined the
Damascus-headquartered Jihad movement as terrorist. What is your position,
particularly after Washington asked Syria to close Jihad headquarters...?"
Al-Shar': "Activity in the Jihad movement's headquarters is limited to the media
aspect, and those who work there have no connection to military activity or operations
planning. The leaders of the Palestinian [battle] field are in the field... Anyone
living on Syrian soil cannot plan operations to be carried out on Palestinian soil..."
Question: "From this, can it be concluded that Syria will not comply with the American
request...?"
Al-Shar': "We can comply with this only in one instance: [when] the Palestinians
return to their homeland Palestine... We hope that the U.S. will agree to this and
will pressure Israel so that the Palestinians will return to their homeland, in
accordance with [U.N. General Assembly] Resolution 194."
Russia Promised Sharon to Refrain from Sending SAM-19 Missiles to Syria
Question: "What truth is there in the claim that Russia complied with Sharon's request
to refrain from giving Syria SAM-19 missiles, which means Russian submission to Israel
with whom it has advanced military relations, and thus Sharon brags that America and
the countries of the world obey his demands?"
Al-Shar': "I will not respond to questions of this kind, but I will say only that
Sharon boasts about everything. He summoned the American ambassador and told him that
Syria must close the offices of the Islamic Jihad and thus saw himself as a victor...
Evidently, the only thing Sharon enjoys right now is complaining about Syria to the
U.S. ambassador to Israel. I say that this complaint made no echoes, because the
offices of [the Islamic Jihad] are nothing but information offices, and whoever works
in them has a legitimate right to express the hopes of his people. With regard to the
lie that they are capable of carrying out operations... they [Islamic Jihad in
Damascus] can plan no operations against Israel while they are abroad, far from the
soil on which the operations are carried out."
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441
Question: "What about Syria's vote in favor of Resolution 1441? Do you think that
there is a possibility that Syria will be taken off the list of countries sponsoring
terrorism that the U.S. put years ago?"
Al-Shar': "This decision is in America's hands. When we voted on resolution 1441, we
did not do it in order to get anything from America [in return], but out of conviction
and because of our national [Syrian] and Pan-Arab positions. We voted in favor in
order to remove the war from Iraq and to clear the Resolution of its military content,
and to [prevent] the automatic blow that could have been landed on Iraq and on the
entire region."
Question: "What is your response to those who say that Syria does not want to see an
invasion of Iraq because it fears for itself, and fears the possibility that its turn
will be next?"
Al-Shar': "It is no shame for a man to stand alongside his brother because he is next
in line. On the contrary, fundamental Pan-Arab thought states that you defend your
brother because you are a direct or an indirect target, and if you are not a target
[at present] then you will be a target tomorrow or the next day. Therefore, this
should in no way be seen as a breach of the Syrian position. It is exactly like a man
telling an official that he does not steal because he fears the law. This is a good
thing. If fearing the law is a deterrent preventing him from stealing, this is what we
want."
Question: "But to many, it would seem that countries such as France and Russia have
changed their position and backed down before America. It could have been expected
that countries such as France, Russia, and China would use their right of veto to
prevent the ratification of Resolution 1441."
Al-Shar': "The use of the veto means complete rejection of American policy, and they
do not completely reject U.S. policy - they need [America]. Yes, they need the
segregationist and tyrannical American policy."
Question: "What is your response to the charge that by voting for the resolution Syria
placed American interests above Arab interests?"
Al-Shar': "These are empty words, useless words. Syria's vote in favor of Resolution
1441 was to strengthen the peace camp in Washington and to prevent a strike on Iraq,
at least in the initial phase. What Syria tried to do with its vote on this
resolution was to build a barrier against any military attack on Iraq."
Question: "There is another interpretation: had Syria known for sure that the Arab
countries would not accept Resolution 1441 and that Iraq would refuse to cooperate -
it would have abstained. [According to this interpretation,] what dictated Syria's
voting was its conviction that the Arabs would ratify the resolution and Iraq would
cooperate with it."
Al-Shar': "To this, I must add that President Saddam Hussein said, a week before the
passing of Resolution 1441, that he accepts any new Security Council resolution that
does not include military action against Iraq and preserves Iraqi sovereignty, and
this is what we stressed in our talks with Security Council members so that the
necessary changes would be made in the resolution. And this is what happened."
The No Fly Zones are Illegitimate
Question: "Can it be said that Syria's vote in favor of the resolution was aimed at
controlling the situation in the near future and allowing an opening for acting with
the other parties, such as Russia, France, and China, so that America could not
artificially create a claim to accuse Iraq of violating the resolution and strike it?"
Al-Shar': "I will say that we, for example, cannot accept the American logic that says
that Iraq's opposition to American aircraft in its 'no-fly zones' violates Resolution
1441, as America recently claimed. This is idiocy and is remote from the simplest
rules of logic and international law. We are facing a country [the U.S.] that is
threatening another country [Iraq]. Is it conceivable that when this country defends
itself, it is thought to be in violation of international law? Nothing like this
happened even in the Middle Ages."
Question: "Especially since the 'no-fly zones' are illegitimate, because the U.S.
imposed them, independently of the U.N.?"
Al-Shar': "Yes... The 'no-fly zones' were imposed outside the legitimate international
framework, and therefore Kofi Annan determined that Iraq's opposition to the American
and British planes above its 'no-fly zones' did not constitute a violation of U.N.
Resolution 1441."
The U.S. Fears International Law and Abides by It
Question: "But we must not forget that the American congress empowered Bush to attack
Iraq."
Al-Shar': "Yes, but the vote of the Congress was based on the need to exhaust all
other means before entering into war, which should be the last resort. Even the
Democrats supported the decision based on this thought. Therefore, [the resolution]
was taken out of the hands of the extreme Christian Right, because how can [the U.S.]
go to war without listening to others, primarily to the mass demonstrations that
marched in London and America? Therefore, they should have turned to the U.N. This
need, in and of itself, is useful, because it reveals that the Americans fear
[international] law and thus abide by it. This is good in itself, and is an important
development in the international arena."
Question: "Many fear that America will continue with the campaign of inventing
pretexts, and will accuse Iraq of sabotaging the inspection operations - which is
likely to permit it to go to war against Iraq under the auspices of the U.N. My
question is whether you think this is about to happen?"
Al-Shar': "The answer to this point is neither 'yes' nor 'no.' The answer depends on
an essential point - the inspectors' report. They must submit their report to the
Security Council, not to America. This comes first. Besides that, all Security Council
members must discuss the inspectors' report, not just the permanent members or
America. [When they say] 'all the members,' Syria is one of them. They cannot, under
any circumstances, ignore the 10 non-permanent Security Council members, as they have
in the past. This is a mistake we will not allow again."
WMD and Colonialist Policies
Question: "How can the Arabs exit the vicious cycle of the illusion of
[non-conventional] weapons in their hands, and the actual nuclear arsenal in Israel's
possession to which America turns a blind eye? We have seen recently how North Korea
confirmed its secret nuclear program, but the U.S. does not punish it and makes
excuses for it, [saying] that each party requires a different response that suits its
strategy."
Al-Shar': "The double standards underpin colonialist policy. In the London and Paris
press they spoke a lot about upholding human rights, but acted differently to peoples
of other countries in the 18th and 19th centuries... Yes, they upheld human rights in
London, but carried out the most loathsome of deeds against human rights in the
regions of their colonialism. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted it when he
spoke critically of the colonialist past last week."
The U.S. Uses a Double Standard Policy Regarding WMD
Question: "Can it be said today that colonialism has returned, and is represented by
America?"
Al-Shar': "But now there is greater awareness, both in public opinion and in the
governments of the West, about how using double standards will cause their daily
policy to lose credibility, and so will the strategy they espouse... Today the matter
of double standards is discussed [everywhere], be it regarding Palestine, Iraq, WMD,
etc. The double standards are clearly revealed, since war is the means of disarming
Iraq, while with Korea they use dialogue."
Question: "Even though North Korea openly acknowledged that it possesses secret
nuclear weapons?"
Al-Shar': "Yes, and this is in addition to what is happening with Israel, about whose
possession of weapons of mass destruction there reigns complete silence... [however]
our optimism stems from the fact that there are [some] first signs that the world is
tending to reject the double standards [policy]."
The Road Map
Question: "One thing leads to another: My question is, what about the peace plan
called the 'Road Map' that the U.S. submitted as a means of settling the Palestinian
issue, which is to be announced on December 20 at the [European] Quartet Meeting?"
Al-Shar': "In my assessment, there is no 'road map'; it is another illusion put into
the heads of some Arab countries. The map exists only in the media. In reality,
there is an attempt to fill the [political] vacuum, and nothing more."
Endnote:
(1) Al-Usbu' (Egypt), November 25, 2002.
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