Topic: China Backs Syria in Opposing Extension of Anti-Terror War

topic by
John Calvin
12/26/2001 (20:29)

China Backs Syria in Opposing Extension of Anti- Terror War
By George Baghdadi, Inter Press Service
DAMASCUS, Dec 24 (IPS) - China has joined Syria in condemning Israeli aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories and rejected the extension of ''war on terrorism'' beyond the borders of Afghanistan (
These views were expressed Sunday after a lengthy meeting between Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, who arrived in Damascus on Saturday on the second leg of a one-week tour of the Middle East that includes Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Tang said the purpose of his tour was to get acquainted with the region's officials and current developments, especially after September 11 and the subsequent U.S. war on terrorism. While reaffirming his country's cooperation with the United States in fighting terrorism, Tang said China 'disapproves of linking terrorism with any particular religion, sect, party, race, religion or state.'

A presidential spokesman said Assad's talks with his Chinese guest '' dealt with changes in the world and the importance of uniting international efforts to help that current operations (in Afghanistan) do not extend beyond Afghanistan.'' He did not elaborate.

''Both stressed the need of analyzing the causes that led to the growth of terror in the world and not to tackle this issue from latest outcomes,'' the spokesman added.

After the talks between Tang and his Syrian counterpart Farouk Al-Sharaa, an official statement said Beijing and Damascus ''expressed condemnation of all forms of terrorism and called for its fight within the context of the United Nations (news - web sites).''

A diplomat close to the meetings said the Syrian side underlined the distinction Damascus made between terrorism and the right of people to struggle for the liberation of occupied land. The explanation came as Washington was reported stepping up the pressure on Syria to stop backing the ''terrorist'' Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah.

White House National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) called on Syria last week to dismantle the military arm of Hezbollah, in an interview with the London-based Arabic language television channel MBC.

''We recognise that Hezbollah has a side which conducts social and political activities, which is a good thing, but this leaves a terrorist branch which is responsible for many problems in the Middle East. And this is what we have told Lebanon and Syria,'' Rice said.

Last month, Washington added Hezbollah to its list of groups whose assets were to be frozen as part of the international war on terrorism launched after the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Syria, which backs the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation and harbours radical Palestinian groups, is accused by the United States of supporting terrorism. Damascus rejects the charges and believes Palestinians and Hezbollah were legitimately struggling for the liberation of their occupied lands.

Hezbollah - sponsored Syria and Iran - spearheaded the guerrilla war that led to Israel's troop pullout from southern Lebanon in May 2000 after 22 years of occupation.

The group continues to launch sporadic attacks on Israeli troops in Shebaa Farms, a mountainous area on the Lebanese-Syrian borders seized by Israel from Lebanon in 1967.

Government-run al-Baath newspaper revealed Sunday that President Assad had received a message from U.S.President George W. Bush (news - web sites) in which the latter expressed willingness to work with Syria for a just peace in the Middle East and against terrorism.

In a message on the occasion of the Muslim feast of Eid al- Fitr, which marks the end of the Ramadan month of fasting, Bush said he was ''confident that cooperation and dialogue between Syria and the United States will resolve the problems which face the two countries, including wiping out terrorism''.

Bush also expressed the wish that ''the United States and Syria work together for a just and permanent peace in the Middle East based on resolutions 242 and 338 of the United Nations Security Council.''

The two resolutions call for Israel's withdrawal from Arab territories occupied in 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights annexed by the Jewish state in 1981.

Assad recently called on the United States ''to put a stop to Israeli aggression'' in the Palestinian territories, during a meeting in Damascus with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns.

Such a view threatens to do untold damage to Washington's already shaky standing in the Middle East, wrecking Bush's recent efforts to cast aside his early lack of interest in the region.

''Much of the credit Bush and Colin Powell (news - web sites) (his Secretary of State) bought in the region with their goal of an independent Palestinian state will be fast running out,'' said a long-time Middle East observer.