Category: Syria

Kurdish Political Party Chief Arrested In Syria – Rights Group

DAMASCUS (AFP)–The head of a banned Kurdish political group has been arrested by the Syrian security services under emergency laws, a human rights group said Monday.

“The military security services in Damascus arrested Mohammed Mussa, secretary general of the Kurdish Left Party on Saturday,” the National Organization of Human Rights in Syria, or NOHRS, said in a statement.

Mussa was arrested and questioned previously by security services in Hassake, northeastern Syria because of “his party’s activities and his comments to the Arab media,” NOHRS said.

The group branded his detention as unconstitutional because he was arrested under “emergency powers which have been in place in Syria for 45 years,” rather than by judicial authorities. Syrian authorities should release Mussa immediately and abandon the emergency powers under which they are making arrests, the group said.

Mussa’s party also called for their leader’s release, saying, “Mohammed Mussa is a nationalist who defends the interests and the legitimate rights of the Kurdish people as well as those of all the Syrian people.”

The majority of Syria’s 1.5 million Kurds live in the north of the country. There are 11 unauthorized Kurdish political parties in Syria, independent observers say.

Syrian Kurdish officials deny claims they aim to establish a separate state and say they only want political rights and recognition of their language and culture.

Source: www.nasdaq.com, 21.07.2008

July 23, 2008
INTERVIEW-Turkey, Syria to create a joint oil company

Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:34pm IST

By Orhan Coskun

ANKARA, July 17 (Reuters) – Turkey and Syria’s state owned oil companies will establish a joint firm this year to develop their oilfields, the head of Turkey’s state oil company TPAO told Reuters.

“The completion of the company’s establishment is targeted for 2008. The purpose of the company is to produce oil from fields in Syria, Turkey and third countries,” said TPAO general manager Mehmet Uysal.

He added the company will first look for production opportunities in Syria before Turkey and third countries.

Private sector energy experts say they are still trying to determine the extent of Syria’s oilfields. Existing fields are in need of investment for development.

TPAO plans on exploring extensively in the Black Sea, where it already has operations, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea.

Uysal also said Turkey, during Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to Iraq earlier this month, won approval to form a consortium to bid for oil exploration rights in Iraq.

“We have ongoing talks to make an deal with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) regarding exploration,” said Uysal.

Iraq’s oil ministry has finished negotiations with oil majors on six short-term oil service contracts and hopes to sign the deals in July.

In the absence of a long-delayed national oil law, Baghdad has been negotiating short-term technical service contracts. The deals are worth around $500 million each.

Five of the deals that have been under discussion are with Royal Dutch Shell, Shell in partnership with BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Chevron (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in partnership with Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research).

Source: Reuters, July 17, 2008

July 20, 2008
Son of Mountains

‘Son of Mountains’ is an extraordinary book that charts its course through one of the most poignant and disturbing memoirs of recent years.

Written by Kurdish/American Yasin Aref, ‘Son of Mountains’ was published in 2008 and is already entering its second print run. It is a memoir of Aref’s life from his days as a Kurdish child living in Iraq; fleeing to Syria where he worked as a gardener; to emigrating to the US through UN approved channels. Tragically for Aref and his family, that is not where the story ends.

‘Son of Mountains’ was written by Aref while in custody in a New York State prison. Arrested on charges of ‘terrorism,’ the book took shape in the six months he spent in detention between his conviction in Oct 2006 and his sentencing in 2007.

Born the son of a farmer, Aref recounts vividly his early years working as a labourer in Kirkuk, the influence of the poetry of Omar Khayyam—recalled from memory— on his own idealism and the abject poverty he and his kin experienced. We follow his trials and share in his frustrations: while Kirkuk was “one of the largest centres of the oil industry in the world…we had to wait for hours in line to buy smuggled gasoline.”

After being granted UN refugee status, Aref and his family arrived in the US in 1999. Although life was tough, it was relatively peaceful. Aref struggled to support his young children, working several jobs. Finally he was asked to be the Iman [sic.] of a mosque in Albany and he accepted, feeling that this was a calling for him.

In 2003, it all started to go against him. The alleged discovery of his name and contact details in a notebook in Iraq triggered a protracted FBI ‘sting’ operation which culminated in his arrest, hearing and sentencing on March 8 2007 to fifteen years in jail for: ‘support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy with a weapon of mass destruction, money laundering and lying to the government.’

Aref remains in custody, his future uncertain. For his family too, the future is uncertain and potentially treacherous for all of them. If you ever had doubts that the ‘War on Terror’ did not also signal a war on personal freedoms, a war on common sense and a war on cultures and identities you must read this book.

‘Son of Mountains: My Life as a Kurd and a Terror Suspect‘ by Yassin Aref

Troy Bookmakers, Troy, New York, 2008.

Source: What’s On Syria

July 20, 2008
Syria-Turkey launch 18 new development projects

The Syria-Turkey Inter-Regional Cooperation Program (STICP) approved 18 services, cultural and economic projects on July 1.

During a STICP meeting in Aleppo, the program’s committee for selecting projects chose the 18 projects out of 54 nominated for implementation on the basis of their priority and contribution to bilateral cooperation, economic development and employment, as well as the likelihood of long term success.

The approved projects include a border safety center, renovating the Gaziantep highway, establishing a tourism police station and renovating the al-Soda border checkpoint. They will be implemented over three years.

Governor of Aleppo Tamer al-Hajjeih said the STICP was an important tool in enhancing Syrian-Turkish ties. “Through such projects, the program is helping to foster the exchange of expertise between Syria and Turkey,” Hajjeih said.

Turkish State Planning Commission representative Farouq Delk said Turkey is presently implementing 42 projects at a value of USD 7.4m.

STICP was launched in 2005 between the Syrian governorate of Aleppo and the Turkish governorates of Killes, Onkobinar Gate and Gaziantep at a budget of USD 20m split equally between the two countries.

Source: Syria Today, 16 July 2008

July 20, 2008
Syrian History-1900 till 1920

July 12, 2008