Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ.RwISTA
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New Assad?
TheProof
IsAwaited
By Daniel Pipes
HILADELPHIA - After their
P marathon meeting in Geneva on
Sunday, Bill Ointon was asked if he
feit that Hafez Assad had made a
firm commitment to nonnalize relations
with Israel. Without hesitation,
President Ointon replied, "The short
answer is 'yes.' "
Well, maybe.
President Assad's record suggests
that it is wise to be skeptical about his
intentions. As in the bad old days
when he was a Soviet client, he still
engages in aggressive activities, aimed
mostlyat Israel, Turkey, Lebanon and
the United States. 1)1ey include:
• Building up Syrian unconventional
military capabilities. Damascus
now has thousands of chemical warheads,
appears to be ~ the verge of
putting anthrax agents IDto weapons
and IS star'tingnuclear research. Its
Scud-C missiles from North Korea
can reach most of Israel's population.
• Getting more involved in the
drug trade. Top officials participate in
trafficking drugs to the West, according
to a lCJ?2congression,alJCPOrt..
Sponsonng Lebanese andPalestmian
gro~s that attack Israelis, as well
as Palestmians who favor Yasser Arafat,
and sponsoring the Kurdish
Workers Party (PKK), a Marxist
group, in its assaults on Turkey.
• Nurturing an alliance with Iran.
So close is this bond that the Syrians
have distributed counterfeit U.S. curtency
produœd in Iran, aa::ording to a
report by the House Republican Re>search
Committee.
In short, Mr. Assad's policies have
made Syria a rogue state along with
Libya, Iraq and Iran. He represses his
own people with a harshness second
only to Saddam Hussein's.
But while Washington puts pressure
on the other rogue states by
working to isolate them, it woos Syria.
Rather than isolating the regime, it
has tried for years to bring Syria into
the "family of nations."
American diplomats hold out small
bait to encourage ~ation; last
month, for example, Syna was allowed
to acquire American-made jets. Secretaries
of state and other dignitaries
travel to I>arnasclß, and now four
~~lresidents have met with Mr.
. American cotnpllIlies. operate
in Syria almost without restrictions.
Mr. Assad has avoided the harsh
treatment dealt to Moammar Gadhafi,
Saddam Hussein and Iran's mullahs
because he is smarter. He makes
gestures at the right time and plays
complicated double games. He keeps
diplomatic links open and accommodates
when necessary. For example, he
has bendited simply by joining the
peace process. This permitted him to
devour Lebanon in 1991 without a
peep from Washington.
A few months ago, when Tur£y
protested against Syrian support of
Kurdish terrorism, the Syrians re>plied
with seeming indignation: How
can you raise such an issue while
we're engaged in the peace process
with Israel?
What if Mr. Assad, who said on
Sunda~ that "in honor we shall m4e
peace' with Israel, comes through?
Then the Arab- Israeli conflict will
be nearly over. While Israel will have
to leave the Golan Heights, it will
have an opportunity to establish
stringent safeguards.
ADd if Mr. Assad's words in Geneva
don't add up to much?
If Washin$ton wants real improvements
in Synan behavi()r, it will have
to sto~ coddling him and confront
him WIth a stark choice: "You're either
with us or against us."
Forced to choose sides, if he whole>heartedly
travels the American route
he would have to close down the anti-
Turkish terrorist groups, kick out re>jcctionist
Palestinians, disarm the
fundamentalist groups in Lebanon,
stop drug trafficking operations and
end the military buildup.
If he went down the Iranian path,
he would find himself on a collision
course with America .
He would probably ask himself
this question: Which route better
assures me and my coreligii>nist
Alawites of continuing to dominate
Syrian politics? While the Iranian
route would suit his temperament,
the American route would hold out
more promise.
The American policy of approachmg
Mr. Assad with great patience
and gentle words has produced little
more than agreeable promises. If it
wants real change, Washington may
have to adopt the sort of tough policy
that this canny despot understands.
The writer, director' of the Middle
East Counci~ a research organization,
and author of"Greater Syria" and "DamafCUY
Courts the West," contributed
'thiscomment to The New York Times.
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FRA04874 I 0255 TUR IAFP-WY95
Turquie-Allemagne-GB
La Tut'quie invitée à "fait'e ses devoit's" en matièt'e de démoct'atie
ANKARA, 20 jan (AFP) - L'Allemagne et la Grande-Bretagne ont déclaré jeudi
leur volonté d'aider la Turquie à se rapprocher de l'Europe, à condition
qu'elle accentue ses efforts sur le plan intérieur, notamment dans le domaine
des Droits de l'Homme.
Réunis à Ankara avec leur homologue turc Hikmet Cetin pour des
consultations politiques sur les développements dans la région et les futurs
liens de la Turquie avec l'Union européenne, les chefs des diplomaties
allemande et britannique Klaus Kinkel et Douglas Hurd ont souligné
l'importance de l'amélioration de la démocratie en Turquie.
"Nous voulons aidet' la TI.wquie à se t'appt'ochet' davantage de
Quant à la Tl..wquie, elle doit fai,t'eses devoit's", a déclat'é M.
d'une conférence de presse conjointe avec ses deux homologues.
l'El..wope.
Kinkel lOt's
"Nous avons
fait cette t'emat'ql..le en tant qu'ami", a-t-il sO'Jligné.
M. HI.lt'da t'éaffirmé la "sensibilité de l'E'_lt'ope"à la situation dans le
sud-est anatolien. En accord avec M. Kinkel, il a affirmé l'importance d'une
IIJtte "contt'e le tel"t'ot'isme dans le cadl"e de la loi et le l"espect de la
démoct'at ie ".
La Turquie frappe à la porte de l'Union européenne depuis 1987 mais son
adhésion suscite'des réticences --et pas seulement en Grèce, son rival de
toujours-- principalement à cause des nombreux excès enregistrés dans le cadr~
de la
(PKK)
lutte
dans
contre la
le sud-est.
rébellion armée du Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan
YM/chb
AFP 201854 JAN 94
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