Syrian Elector

Syrian blogger sentenced to three years in jail

DAMASCUS, Syria: A human rights group says a 24-year-old Syrian blogger has been convicted and sentenced to three years in prison on charges of undermining the prestige of the state and weakening national morale.

In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria condemned the verdict issued the day before as "outrageous" and called for Tarek Bayassi's immediate release.

The rights group says Bayassi's sentence was commuted to three years after an original sentence of six years. Bayassi was arrested last May in northwest Syria for surfing sites of Syrian opposition groups and posting comments online.

The Syrian government frequently arrests activists for posting comments critical of the government online.

US condemns demands Syria release political prisoners

The United States said Wednesday that Syria's treatment of political prisoner Kamal Labwani flouts international standards of human rights and the rule of law.

Labwani is among six government critics and human rights campaigners arrested since May and given long prison sentences by a Damascus court. Labwani's was the longest, 12 years; US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack condemned Syria on Wednesday for having a military court add three years to Labwani's sentence for insulting President Bashar Assad.

"This decision, coupled with the Syrian High Court's verdict to uphold Mr. Labwani's earlier 12-year sentence for calling for political reform, demonstrates the Syrian regime's contempt for human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law," McCormack said.

His statement also demanded the immediate release of Labwani and all other political prisoners.

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Associated Press

The facts of the Syrian-Israeli flirtation

By Michael Young
Daily Star staff

Amid rumors that the political furniture is being moved around in Damascus, perhaps the strangest thing is how Syria has organically lodged itself between Iran and Israel, states that are otherwise mortal foes. The Iranian connection is well known, but less understood are the dynamics of the Syrian-Israeli relationship, and where they might lead.

Rarely a day goes by without someone in the Israeli press advocating a revival of Syrian-Israeli negotiations. The arguments are familiar: Syria has a "secular regime," therefore is worthy of Israel's attention; now is Israel's best chance to "break Syria off from Iran"; Syria alone can control Hizbullah; and so on. That each of these arguments has been explicitly contradicted by Syrian actions or statements is generally ignored. The fetish of "talking" is too strong for anyone to punch through the myths.

And yet the rationale for Syrian-Israeli peace talks rests on a bed of myths. Syria's regime may be secular, but it has built long-term alliances mainly with Islamist regimes and groups, such as Iran, Hizbullah, and Hamas. When possible, as in the case of Fatah al-Islam, Syria has created or overseen militant Islamist groups, while Al-Qaeda operatives caught in Iraq will routinely describe their training and passage through Syria, usually via networks linked to the country's intelligence services. Given all this, the Assad regime's "secularism" seems irrelevant.

Syria's Repression Of The Kurds

The U.S. State Department issued a statement condemning the March 20th attack on the Kurdish Syrian population of the northeastern city of Qamishli by Syrian security forces. Three civilians were killed and at least five were reportedly injured when security troops fired on Kurds celebrating Nowruz.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that the U.S. calls upon the Syrian government "to refrain from using violent measures to repress Kurdish civilians and to open a full, independent investigation of the incident."

A participant in the Nowruz celebration in Qamishli told VOA's Kurdish Service that Syrian authorities used lethal force to break up a peaceful holiday celebration:

"They [Syrian authorities] said there was a demonstration, but that is not true. We were dancing. We were circling the [ritual] fire. There were no slogans, no chanting, nothing. They [the Syrian authorities] were looking for an excuse to shoot and kill us."

Syria got N. Korea help for N-facility

BY NANAE KURASHIGE
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

An Israeli airstrike against Syria last September targeted a nuclear-related facility that was under construction with technical assistance from North Korea, according to Israel's prime minister.

Japanese government sources said over the weekend that the Israeli leader, Ehud Olmert, briefed Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda about the attack during summit talks in Tokyo on Feb. 27.

It is apparently the first time that the intended target had been disclosed to the head of a foreign government.

Previously, Jerusalem had only acknowledged it carried out the Sept. 6, 2007, attack, but stopped short of identifying the type of facility.

Tokyo has shown keen interest in the disclosure as it suggests Pyongyang was providing nuclear technology to Damascus in violation of an agreement made at six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue not to transfer nuclear materials, technology or know-how.

According to the sources, Olmert told Fukuda that the site was a nuclear-related facility that was under construction with know-how and assistance from North Korean technicians dispatched by Pyongyang.

Olmert also said Israel remains concerned about the issue of nuclear proliferation by North Korea and sought greater information sharing with Tokyo through expanded dialogue on the issue.

No Freedom in Arab Cultural Capital 2008

by Alexandra Sandels

The selection of Damascus as the Arab cultural capital 2008 by UNESCO is overshadowed by the imprisonment of dozens of members of the political opposition. While President Bashar Al-Assad states "Damascus is the capital of resistance culture by symbolizing Arab culture - the culture of freedom and defending freedom," an increasing number of journalists, writers, poets and artists enter Syrian prisons.

When Damascus was crowned the Arab cultural capital of the year 2008 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), President al-Assad praised the honour, saying in his speech on the opening of the one-year long celebration on 10 January that the selection is an acknowledgement of the city's 'resistance culture'.

"Damascus is the capital of resistance culture by symbolizing Arab culture - the culture of freedom and defending freedom," said Al-Assad. But as hailed Lebanese singer Fayrouz, an emblem of Arab culture, took the stage in Damascus in late January to give her first performance in Syria in 20 years, accommodation for a number of prominent new guests from Syria's political opposition, including writers, poets, and sculptors, were made in the jails of Damascus.

APN spoke with Ammar Abdulhamid, an exiled Syrian lawyer and Executive Director of the Tharwa Foundation, a web portal for bloggers and activists in the Arab world.

"It's ironic that Damascus is being celebrated as the Arab cultural capital this year. What is there to celebrate when the Syrian culture is censored or put in prison? The writers, the intellectuals, the journalists...they're all gone. Is culture about crackdown and totalitarianism?" he said.

Merkel urges Syria to play 'constructive role' in Lebanese vote

Europe World News

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Syria on Friday to play "a constructive role" in resolving the political impasse which has left Lebanon without a president for three months. "A swift election for a new president is needed," the chancellor said ahead of talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora in Berlin.

She said the election of a new president was a prerequisite for talks to begin on "the structures of a government based on democratic rules and principles."

Merkel called on Syria to play "a constructive role" in helping to resolve the crisis, "something which it has not done to a satisfactory extent so far."

U.S. imposes economics sanctions on prominent Syrian businessman

By The Associated Press

The United States on Thursday imposed economic sanctions against a prominent Syrian businessman as part of an effort to punish officials in Syria for alleged efforts to undermine the governments of Iraq and Lebanon. The Treasury Department said the sanctions would be imposed on Rami Makhluf, who was identified as a prominent Syrian businessman and close to the country's Baath regime.

President George W. Bush last week signed an executive order that expanded penalties against senior government officials in Syria and their associates who are judged to have benefited from public corruption.

The Treasury Department order freezes any assets that Makhluf holds in U.S. financial institutions and prohibits U.S. citizens and firms from engaging in any business contacts with him.

Makhluf is the first cousin of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and is considered one of the most powerful and influential businessmen in Syria. The 39-year-old controls the country's mobile phone network, SyriaTel, as well as other lucrative businesses.

U.S.: Syria part of N. Korea nuke deal

U.S. officials, citing concerns over alleged activity in Syria, rejected proposals from North Korean negotiators to compromise on a denuclearization agreement.

Officials expected to reach a deal in December regarding nuclear programs in North Korea in exchange for political and economic concessions.

Israel destroyed a suspected nuclear facility in Syria with a September airstrike. U.S. and Israeli officials allege the facility was built with help from North Korea.

Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator for North Korea, said Pyongyang needs to come clean on its past nuclear activity "including the Syrian matter," The Washington Times said Wednesday.

Hill said North Korea says it doesn't have a current nuclear program and won't have one in the future but U.S. officials say that "is not good enough."

Washington says Pyongyang needs to disclose activities in order to meet full disclosure requirements in the denuclearization deal.

"I don't think we can really go forward with some of our obligations until we have a complete picture," Hill said.

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United Press International.

Syria: The Opposition and its Troubled Relationship with Washington

Joe Macaron

The January 28 detention of Riad Seif is the latest development in a campaign of arrests against members of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration launched by Syrian authorities only a week after U.S. President George Bush met with Ma'moun al-Hamsi, Jenkiskhan Hasou, and Ammar Abdul Hamid at the White House in December 2007. The White House has condemned the arrests, but so far the U.S. Chargé d'Affairs in Syria reportedly has not broached the topic with the sole Syrian official with whom he meets, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal al-Mikdad. Although Washington at one point wished for a united Syrian opposition, it has decided to treat the opposition more as a human rights concern than a potential force for political change. Washington's meetings with representatives of the National Salvation Front, the Syrian National Council, Kurdish parties, and the Reform Party, have been confined to general discussions regarding the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative and the $5 million allocated to Syria.

Sources within the U.S. administration admit that Washington's ability to influence events in Syria is limited due to the lack of strong economic ties. In addition, U.S. officials have misgivings about engaging with some parts of the opposition, for example former Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam, given his history in power. The White House has not yet authorized meetings with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, in order to avoid lending legitimacy to the organization's alternative project. For its part, the Brotherhood does not seem ready for such a dialogue, at least publicly.