Syria expels politician for Hariri remarks

SYRIA: Syria's ruling Baath party yesterday expelled former vice president Abdel Halim Khaddam and called for him to be tried for high treason for confirming reports that President Bashar Assad had threatened former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri five months before his murder. On Saturday, Syria's parliament issued the same demands.

Speaking last Friday to the pan-Arab satellite channel al-Arabiya, Mr Khaddam quoted Dr Assad as telling Mr Hariri, "I will crush anyone who tries to oppose our decisions", while discussing the extension of Lebanese president Emile Lahoud's term in office during an August 2004 meeting. Mr Hariri, who opposed prolongation, was so shaken that his nose started to bleed, Mr Khaddam revealed.

While not accusing Dr Assad of direct implication in the crime, Mr Khaddam stated, "Assad monopolises power, he is the sole ruler and there is no law in Syria except personal interests." Mr Khaddam said the assassination was "a big operation with an apparatus behind it, not individuals". He revealed that Mr Lahoud and the former head of the country's general intelligence agency, Jamil Sayyed, who is under arrest in Beirut charged with the murder, had "incited" Dr Assad against Mr Hariri. "The campaigns launched by Lahoud and Sayyed were powerful and Assad was greatly influenced by them."

A UN mission investigating the bombing that killed Mr Hariri and 21 others on February 14th concluded it was the work of senior Lebanese and Syrian in- telligence officials. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied Syrian involvement in the assassination and, following the adoption of a Security Council resolution threatening sanctions, has pledged to co-operate fully with the UN team.

Mr Khaddam laid primary blame on Rustum Ghazaleh, Syria's head of intelligence in Lebanon, who behaved as if he was "the absolute ruler of Lebanon". Gen Ghazaleh is one of four senior Syrian officials questioned by the UN team.

While vice president and close aide of the late president Hafez Assad, Mr Khaddam was in charge of Syria's policies in Lebanon until the "Lebanon file" was given to the president's son and heir. Mr Khaddam was relieved of his duties in June when Dr Assad purged many members of the "old guard" around his father in a bid to reform the corrupt and ramshackle regime. But Mr Khaddam did not announce his resignation until the interview.

Syrian deputy George Jabbour observed that Mr Khaddam's charges were "delicate and dangerous" and said that he "must not forget he was part of the government [ and] played an important role in the country's foreign policy".

Regional analysts see Mr Khaddam's performance as an attempt to harm Dr Assad and the "young guard" in charge in Damascus. A Syrian commentator said the interview came just as international pressure on Syria had begun to abate. The Lebanese press suggested Mr Khaddam could be called to testify by the UN mission.