Arms smuggled from Syria seized
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article519792.ece
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Oct 17, 2011 22:31 Updated: Oct 17, 2011 22:31
AMMAN: A government official says Jordan has seized arms smuggled in from neighboring Syria.
Jordan Customs chief Ghaleb Al-Sarayrah says the arms cache contained 15 pistols, silencers and magazines. He said Monday they were seized at the northern Jaber border crossing.
He said the weapons were hidden in cans of tomato sauce, olives and white cheese.
No other details were immediately available, including the intended recipient of the arms.
Jordan is known as a transit point for smuggled arms and drugs. In recent years, Jordan has intercepted arms sent from Lebanon by the militant Hezbollah to Palestinians in the West Bank for attacks against Israel.
Jordan's relations with Syria have long been bumpy. They worsened after official Jordanian statements rebuking the Syrian regime for using force to quell anti-government protests.
معارضة الداخل ترحب ببيان الجامعة
Internal oppositions welcomes Arab League statement
http://www.alwatan.sy/dindex.php?idn=110639
http://backupurl.com/2ecm9y
10/18/2011
Welcomed the opposition forces active inside the country, the decision of the League of Arab States called on the government and opposition parties of all stripes to the conference a comprehensive national dialogue.
In a statement to «alwatan.sy», said the spokesman of «national coordinating body to the forces of democratic change in Syria» Hussein Awdat: «We are, in principle, welcomed the Arab initiative, especially with regard to stop the violence and work to remove the detainees and the use of a political solution rather than the security and we expressed our readiness for dialogue with the Arab Ministerial Committee and explain our position and listen to them, as we noted that we need to communicate with other parties in the opposition and coordination with them.
The body was with the dialogue was held in Syria instead of Cairo as stated in the Arab initiative, said Awdat: We are not touching the order and we have welcomed this initiative in principle, as an Arab has become, without foreign intervention, stressing that the Authority is still on its previous position toward the need to secure the right climate to launch a dialogue.
For his part, welcomed the «current Syrian state-building» Exhibitions emergency meeting yesterday to the Council of the League of Arab States and the statement issued by describing it as «moderate», expressing the hope that the power and the opposition to respond to him.
The «current Syrian state-building» in a statement received «alwatan.sy» a copy of it: The current «welcome attention to the situation of the Arab League and the Syrian bear their responsibilities towards the people and to the brother of one of its members, and welcomes its decision No. 7435 dated 16/10/2011 containing the required Arab League Council an immediate cessation and destruction of violence, murder and put an end to the manifestations of the armed and the abandonment of security processing, in order to avoid more casualties and drifting towards the outbreak of the conflict between the components of the Syrian people, and to preserve the civil peace and the protection of civilians and the unity of the fabric of Syrian society, and the formation of an Arab ministerial delegation related to the Syrian government and the parties spectra of all the opposition to start a conference for dialogue and a comprehensive national headquarters of the League of Arab States and under its auspices, within fifteen days in order to achieve the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and the desired change ».
And saw the power that this decision «a moderate because he aims to stop the bloodshed and the Syrian to prevent aggravation of the conflict into civil strife or external interference».
The power cord of hope that «the Syrian opposition forces respond to a call the Arab League», and wished that «the Syrian authorities agree on the resolution».
He was the «current Syrian state-building» on the tenth of last month, and includes a number of dissidents and independent intellectuals and aims to «build a democratic civil state, and to enable the Syrians and especially the young people to engage effectively in public and political life and public».
And raise the current slogan of «national unity and social justice», and its founders Louay Hussein and Samir Saivan and Mona Ghanem, Bahauddin Alrkad and inspire aggression and Iyad Sharabajee.
مصادر دبلوماسية عربية في القاهرة: سورية ستعيد نسج علاقاتها العربية بناء على ما جرى في الجامعة
Arab diplomatic sources in Cairo Syrian Arab relations would weave based on what happened at the Arab League
http://www.alwatan.sy/dindex.php?idn=110640
http://backupurl.com/73l525
10/18/2011
Likely Arab diplomatic sources in Cairo said that the re-spun Syrian Arab relations on the basis of what happened in the Arab League meeting two days ago.
Sources said the lunch banquet held by Prime Minister (note: Foreign Minister?) of Qatar, the Arab foreign ministers with the exception of Syria and the dispute has broad and sharp in some cases led to the decline in the Qatari demand for suspension of Syria at the Arab League and its Abolition.
The sources said that more than one Arab country defended defense fierce from Syria to prevent any external interference in its affairs, including the Sultanate of Oman, Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon when Saudi Arabia refused any project to suspend the membership of Syria forced the Qatari Prime Minister to withdraw the proposal and replace it with the Commission and the Ministerial and the need for dialogue between the opposition and established for the future of Syria. The source believes that the re-Syria weave relations with the Arab building on the attitudes of Arab States was established in the future to put forward projects for the restructuring of the Arab League, which, according to sources, are under the influence of Gulf specific trying to impose its will, but Sunday's meeting was enough to put an end to the ambition of «other» to impose his decision on all Arab countries.
Syrians show mixed reactions towards reservation over AL decision
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-10/18/c_131196717.htm
English.news.cn 2011-10-18 03:19:37
DAMASCUS, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Syria's reservation over the Arab League (AL) foreign ministers' decision to give it an ultimatum to end its crackdown on protesters was criticized by some opposition figures inside Syria as "wrong reaction," while other local academics dismissed the AL decision as an encroachment upon Syria' s sovereignty.
The AL held on Sunday an emergency meeting upon the request of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to discuss whether to suspend Syria's membership or not, in an attempt to step up pressure on the Syrian leadership to end its alleged crackdown on anti-government protesters which, according to a recent UN tally, has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people since mid-March.
However, the GCC's attempt to suspend Syria's membership failed to win full support from the Arab world. The pan-Arab body decided to give Syria a 15-day deadline to stop its operations against anti-government protesters, and also decided to form a ministerial committee to participate in the Syrian national dialogue.
Addressing the AL in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, Syria's envoy to the AL Youssef Ahmad announced his country's reservation on the AL resolution, saying that Syria is an independent and sovereign country led by a legitimate authority that is capable of running the country's affairs and protecting the security and safety of its citizens, and that any national dialogue can only be held in Syria with the participation of all social groups regardless of their affiliation.
"The Syrian regime's reservation over the AL initiative is just a persistence on ignoring facts and a stubborn insistence on its (leadership) solo act in the midst of the stormy crisis that overwhelmed the entire country," Abdul-Aziz Kheir, an official in charge of foreign relations in the opposition body, told Xinhua by phone.
However, Qadri Jamil, member of the opposing Popular Front for Change and Liberation and a leader of Syrian Communist Party, told Xinhua that his front demands the halt of violence and to commence dialogues on the Syrian territory, stressing that the Syrian reservation came in response to the location of the dialogue and on the 15-day deadline.
Jamil said that the Syrian opposition abroad is "not patriotic. " He also expressed rejection to having a dialogue with such opposition, in order not to tarnish the "reputation of the opposition of Syria."
Imad Fawzi Shuaibi, a political analyst, questioned the timing of the AL meeting as "suspicious," saying that "it should be dealt with from the beginning (of the crisis)."
"It's an attempt to encroach upon the sovereignty of Syria and a move to promoting for the oppositions' National Council announced in Istanbul recently, as well as promoting for Qatar as a head of the ministerial committee."
Syria's official media chastised the AL decision. The al-Baath newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Batth party, said Monday that "some Gulf countries are promoting for covert sectarian agenda."
خبير في الشؤون الشرق أوسطية: روسيا قد تغير موقفها من الملف السوري
An expert in Middle Eastern Affairs: Russia has changed its position on the Syrian file
http://arabic.rt.com/news_all_news/news/569328
18.10.2011 15:25
In an exclusive interview with Channel Russia Today Andrei Stepanov expert in Middle Eastern affairs said that the government and the opposition in Syria do not have the base of a common but represent opposite ends, and that the plan and the Arab Foreign Ministers plan is reasonable and is characterized by right and reason and came at the right time but there is no possibility to implement this plan because the opposition refused to accept authority, indicating opposition to the impossibility to do so with the control conditions of bloodshed and repression of the demonstrations.
On the Russian veto - the Chinese against the draft resolution condemning the repression in Syria asked the UN Security Council, he noted Stepanov that there is a draft resolution Rossi and another Chinese Issagan in the consultations taking place behind the scenes of the United Nations to impose additional sanctions on the Syrian authorities and most importantly they cooperated in no outside interference, This is what Russia is seeking to achieve in partnership with the Chinese side, without submitting a Russian - Chinese joint draft resolution.
Stepanov criticized the foreign positions of countries of hot and revolutions in the Arab region in time to exercise the pressure to apply sanctions on the Syrian regime, are treated differently with the unrest in Yemen, Bahrain, pointing out that double standards in the West has become commonplace and ordinary, and gave the example of the double standards of the U.S. position on Middle East issues, as well as for the Russian position for the Libyan file where there was support for Gaddafi refused to stay in power, and that this also applies to Syria. The expert considered that the Russian Gulf states linking the issue of religious beliefs before the introduction of social and human relations into account, there is a path of pushing a sectarian war so that the Sunnis against Alawites.
He noted Stepanov that double standard is inevitable, in order to support the opposition in Syria is one thing and support the opposition in Bahrain is something else, but the rest of the opposition's rights in demanding freedom and human rights, this right of undeniable on the Arab masses and their right to enjoy all the rights and freedom, social justice and change .
The expert in Middle Eastern affairs that the Syrian regime found itself in real trouble, and that there is a phase of panic in the authoritarian community and that this authority will not accept the plan and the proposals the Arab out of intransigence on the dialogue with the opposition and that he does not see prospects for such a dialogue. The Stepanov that Moscow's position changes gradually, and that tends to accept the point of imposing sanctions, and warning of the last of the Syrian regime and join the campaign hotfixes immediate political arena, Syrian, and objective analysis of the balance of power and the unwillingness of the regime in the reforms will not be an engine of change.
وئام وهاب: الجامعة العربية "تافهة " والوزراء "دمى" واتهام إيران كاذب
Wi'aam Wahhaab: Arab League "trivial" and the minister, "Dolls" a liar and accusing Iran
http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=b7db1b795a3fbe5299bb41ace29da7ac&ar=509204548
Tuesday - October 18 - 2011 - 9:29:16
Description and Wi'aam Wahhaab Party leader, "Unification Arab" Lebanese, Arab League as "frivolous," and described the Arab foreign ministers who moved against Syria as "puppets" did not move their conscience one day to Palestine or Iraq or Libya or day siege of Gaza and the killing of their children.
The Web site, "Bulletin of Lebanon" and that these Wahab asked "Which of you come from a state with the parliamentary elections or municipal claims to reform? Of you belongs to the state that does not steal for half of the state budget?".
He saw in the meeting of Arab foreign ministers "as a prelude to say that the official Arab system is unable to do anything, and this a clear signal to foreign intervention," said: "" to learn the Arab forces that are not of Arab countries incomplete, but is a oil wells clustered around families owner that any attack on Syria Sasibam than Sasebha, and we will consider them as partners in the aggression. "
He said: "It is clear that the U.S. launched more than a campaign in more than one direction, it was clear by accusing him of lying to the Iran of trying to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington."
Played down the significance of the allegations, which claims the capabilities Turkey or NATO to launch a military attack against Syria because any war with Syria means a declaration of war on Israel relentlessly from each axis of defiance and resistance in the region.
Wi'aam Wahhab founded in 2006 Unification Movement, who belongs to the March 8 coalition, which includes a number of the most important political forces of Hezbollah and the Amal movement and the Democratic Party and the Lebanese Marada.
أرودغان يتصل بالرئيس الأسد
Erdogan relation with President al-Assad
http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=3e5a1fefc3c1f9e5ff6cd2ff67322c72&ar=544822087
Tuesday - October 18 - 2011 - 9:12:52
Conducted Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, a telephone call Monday with President Bashar al-Assad in which he addressed the current situation in Syria.
A statement issued by the Office of Prime Minister Erdogan held a telephone conversation with the President urging him to "show restraint" and called for an end to the campaign of violence against demonstrators demanding reforms in Syria, according to the site, "the world."
The statement also added that a meeting took place between the Turkish ambassador in Damascus and the Prime Minister Adel Safar, where the ambassador expressed "deep concern and sorrow of Turkey because of the loss of lives of many confrontations in Syria."
Syrian opposition seeks closer ties to Turkey in Ankara meeting
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-260275-syrian-opposition-seeks-closer-ties-to-turkey-in-ankara-meeting.html
18 October 2011, Tuesday / NOAH BLASER, فSTANBUL
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoًlu met with a delegation from the anti-regime Syrian National Council (SNC) on Monday, Ankara's first public contact with the council in what is seen as a move to strengthen the group's standing as Syria's official opposition movement.
During the meeting Davutoًlu told the delegates from the SNC, which represents a diverse set of opposition voices within Syria, that they should continue using peaceful means in their anti-regime efforts. The “Syrian opposition, which works for a democratic order based on protection of fundamental rights and freedoms” should seek their goals through “legitimate and peaceful means,” Davutoًlu told the council members. The foreign minister also denounced Syria for the Saturday killing of Ziad al-Obeidi, a well-known activist who helped organize peaceful demonstrations in Syria.
The meeting between Davutoًlu and the SNC followed an emergency meeting of the Arab League over the weekend, during which a bloc of countries led by Saudi Arabia attempted to suspend Syria’s membership and recognize the SNC as the legitimate government of Syria. When the measure failed, members instead agreed to host talks in Cairo between the SNC and Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
On Monday, SNC members told Today’s Zaman that the regime would likely abstain from the Cairo meetings, a sign of Damascus’s ardent refusal to talk with a council it has warned other countries against recognizing. The SNC was formed in فstanbul on Oct. 2 after months of negations among a wide range of resistance groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, leftist secularists, Syrian Christians, Kurds and Arab nationalists. The council claims it must be recognized internationally as the legitimate voice of the Syria people and an official alternative to Assad’s Damascus regime.
The council’s meeting with Davutoًlu is one of the largest steps yet in its bid for such recognition, and council members promise that the Monday talk will be followed by further meetings both with Ankara and the Arab League. Members are also seeking to elect an official leader to head the SNC, and hope that a current round of meetings in فstanbul will produce a new leader in the coming week.
Council seeks official recognition
The Ankara meeting raises the question of how soon Middle Eastern or Western governments will recognize the SNC, a move council leaders claim will help create international solidarity with the opposition and serve to erode any remaining credibility of Assad’s regime abroad.
Diplomatic sources close to Today’s Zaman indicated that the meeting should not be taken as a sign that Ankara was planning to recognize the council, stating instead that the meeting was designed to foster “important political contact” with the group. Sources further stressed that recognition is a “legal issue which will remain out of the question for now.”
Although official recognition for the opposition has not been forthcoming, Turkish officials have indicated that they will continue to maintain close contact with the council. Speaking on the issue, Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Selim Yenel told Today’s Zaman the following: “The ministry has, of course, been in contact with members of the council. We have listened to them in order to understand who they are and what their aims are.” Yenel stated that the Foreign Ministry is currently considering planning to open an office for opposition delegates in Ankara.
According to Oytun Orhan, a Middle East expert at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM), Ankara may shy away from official recognition in order to avoid appearing as “the powerbroker of the national council.”
Speaking to Today’s Zaman on Tuesday, Orhan stated that while Turkey’s vocal denunciations of the bloody crackdown in Syria and its plans to enact sanctions against the regime have sent clear messages to Damascus, he believes that Turkey will likely wait until “other nations, specifically Arab states or a neutral country like Sweden, recognize the council.”
“There are still reasons to be cautious. We know that some opposition groups are not represented by the council. We also do not know exactly what the council is proposing yet. Until this point, the government will wait until it grants [the council] official status,” he stated. Orhan nonetheless stated: “Turkey is still likely to continue supporting the council in any way it can. They will be closely in touch.”
Although recognition from Ankara may not be forthcoming, Syria’s opposition movement is nevertheless likely to see the high profile meeting as a sign of the council’s growing legitimacy in the international community.
According to London-based SNC member Obeida Nahas, the council began its calls for recognition in earnest after it agreed to a broad roadmap for opposition during the Oct. 2 meetings in فstanbul. Speaking with Today’s Zaman on Friday, Nahas stated: “We have met with officials in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. We are asking to be recognized not as a political umbrella for opposition groups, but as the legitimate alternative to the regime.” The member said that the council, which represents over 80 percent of opposition groups in Syria, should be considered as the legitimate government of Syria given Assad’s continued use of violence against his own people.
On Oct. 8, Paris-based SNC member Burhan Ghalioun publically called on the international community to recognize the council, and met with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe to discuss the future of the council. Last week, Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council recognized the council as “the sole legitimate government in Syria.”
Nahas stated that the increasing bloodiness of the Assad crackdown and the growing ability of the council to unify a wide range of opposition voices will lead to its eventual recognition among European and Middle Eastern governments.
Turkish foreign minister meets Syrian opposition: official
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Oct-18/151585-turkish-foreign-minister-meets-syrian-opposition-official.ashx
October 18, 2011 10:31 AM
Reuters
ANKARA: Turkey's foreign minister met members of Syria's newly-formed opposition National Council in the Turkish capital on Monday, a Foreign Ministry official said, the first time Turkey has acknowledged such a meeting with the council.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the members to work in a peaceful manner for democratic transformation in Syria.
Earlier this month, Syria warned it would retaliate against any country that formally recognises the National Council set up by opponents of President Bashar Assad.
The formation of the council has been welcomed by Western countries including the United States and France. However, unlike the transitional council set up by Libyan rebels who overthrew Moammar Gadhafi, Western governments have not offered the SNC any formal recognition.
Turkey has allowed opponents of Assad to meet in Turkish cities since anti-government protests started in March and is also providing sanctuary to the most senior Syrian military officer to defect.
الحص يبحث مع عبد الكريم التطورات بلبنان وسورية والمنطقة
Al-Hoss Discusses with Abdul-Karim Developments in Lebanon, Syria and the Region
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/10/18/376393.htm
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/10/18/376394.htm
Oct 18, 2011
BEIRUT, (SANA)-Lebanese Foreign and Expatriates Minister Adnan Mansour on Tuesday stressed that Lebanon will remain by Syria's side to help it achieve stability and security.
Mansour said in an interview with the Lebanese NBN TV channel that the stances he has announced represent Lebanon's official stance, adding that Lebanon's support to Syria does not do anybody any harm, particularly the Lebanese.
In another context, Former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss discussed with Syrian Ambassador in Beirut Ali Abdul-Karim the developments in the situation in Lebanon, Syria and the region.
Abdul-Karim said in a statement to the journalists following the meeting that he listened to al-Hoss' reading of the events and facts concerning the situation in Syria and his conclusions.
He stressed that Syria is going ahead with the national dialogue and the internal reforms with ongoing calculated and confident steps.
Ambassador Abdul-Karim reiterated Syria's keenness on having the best brotherly relations with Lebanon in light of the solid ties and the common interests shared by the two countries and their peoples.
He indicated that consultation is going on between the two countries' leaderships in a way that positively reflects on their interests, security, joint cooperation and fortification against the conspiracies being hatched against them.
He expressed optimism that the awareness of the Syrian and Lebanese people and their leaderships will contribute to fortify the national fabric and the situation in both countries.
The Syrian Ambassador voiced wonder over talk by some in Lebanon that he is interfering in the Lebanese affair, upon his call on those to reconsider their stances according to the charters and the Lebanese constitution and the agreements that regulate the relationship between the two countries.
سفير سوريا في لبنان : سوريا ماضية بخطوات واثقة نحو الإصلاح وترحب بكل رأي وجهد
Syria's ambassador in Lebanon: Syria continues with confident steps towards reform and welcomes all opinion and effort
http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=1a91191ed88ec42569143ff3a66130b6&ar=86124326
Tuesday - October 18 - 2011 - 12:35:05
Assured the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali that "Syria continues its call for dialogue with confident steps towards reform and welcomes all opinion or effort to help her."
And thought, after his meeting with former Prime Minister Salim Hoss, "What happened in the Arab League expresses the external influences," surprisingly, "described his meddling in Lebanese affairs, especially as the interests of Lebanon and Syria, there are overlapping and continuous consultation between the two countries."
Hizb Ut-Tahrir, Hezbollah discuss regional events
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Oct-18/151579-hizb-ut-tahrir-hezbollah-discuss-regional-events.ashx
October 18, 2011 01:00 AM
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A delegation of Hizb Ut-Tahrir in Lebanon discussed Monday with members of Hezbollah's politburo the recent regional developments and particularly the Arab popular uprisings.
A statement released by fundamentalist party Hizb Ut-Tahrir said the head of the party's administrative committee Mohammad Jaber and member of the telecommunication committee Saleh Salam held talks with Hezbollah politburo members Sheikh Abdel-Majid Ammar and Mohammad Saleh.
The statement added that Hizb Ut-Tahrir reiterated "its support to popular uprisings against dictator regimes and condemned illegal arrests by some security apparatus against members of the party."
Ever since the uprisings started in Syria in mid-March Hizb Ut-Tahrir has been organizing protests against the Syrian government in Lebanon on a weekly basis.
Rifi releases report into Syrian Embassy role in kidnappings
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Oct-18/151587-rifi-releases-report-into-syrian-embassy-role-in-kidnappings.ashx
October 18, 2011 12:01 PM
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The ISF police chief released to the media a detailed report that implicates the Syrian Embassy and its ISF personnel in the kidnappings of Syrian opposition figures, days after the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon demanded evidence be produced over the allegations.
The report, released by Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, was referred by the Internal Security Forces (ISF) to judicial authorities in February.
It includes statements from witnesses who have provided solid evidence that three brothers from the Jasem family were kidnapped outside Baabda Serail on Feb. 24 by a four-man group led by Lt. Salah Ali al-Hajj, the head of the Syrian Embassy guard unit. It also adds that a fourth brother, Ahmad Jasem, has been reported missing.
The report said two ISF vehicles, put at the disposal of the Syrian Embassy in Beirut, were used in the kidnapping of the Jasem brothers.
It detailed interception of 19 phone calls made by Hajj to the Syrian Embassy, which in turn coordinated with Lebanese security forces to facilitate their travel to Yanta, in east Lebanon where, the report says. The four were handed over to activists from Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command on the Lebanon-Syria border.
Hajj is the son of Maj. Gen. Ali Hajj, Lebanon's former ISF chief who was held along with three other Lebanese generals for four years for alleged involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
According to the report, he has denied any involvement in the kidnapping, saying in his testimony that on the night of Feb. 24, 2011 he was on a mission with Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdel Karim Ali in Baabda, north of Beirut.
Hajj said he did not leave the house of an ambassador in Baabda where Ali was visiting and denied he made a trip to Baabda Serail or Baabda police station.
Ali Friday demanded that Rifi provide evidence over the allegations that the embassy was involved in the kidnap of the Jasem brothers and of Shibli Aisamy, an 86-year-old Syrian dissident.
The ambassador Tuesday responded to a campaign by the opposition March 14 coalition over comments he made about Rifi.
"I don't want to go into details about reactions and counter-reactions in this dear country … I am surprised that this is considered meddling in Lebanese affairs," Ali said after meeting former Prime Minister Salim Hoss.
On Friday, Ali said Rifi's comments were baseless.
Aisamy was abducted in May, in the town of Aley, minutes after leaving his daughter's home for a walk.
Although Rifi said the investigation into Aisamy's abduction was not yet complete, he has said data collected so far indicates similarities between his kidnapping and that of the Jasem brothers.
Aisamy in Syria, health deteriorating: daughter
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Oct-18/151592-aisamy-in-syria-health-deteriorating-daughter.ashx
October 18, 2011 03:26 PM
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The daughter of 86-year-old Syrian dissident Shibli Aisamy said Tuesday her father is being held in Syria and that his health is deteriorating.
"We have learned [from security leaks] that my father has been held in Syria since the first days of his abduction [in May]," Rajaa Sharafeddine told The Daily Star.
"We've also been told that my father's health is deteriorating," she said.
Sharafeddine said that before his kidnapping, Aisamy's blood pressure "would fluctuate a great deal."
Sharafeddine said she held both the Lebanese and Syrian governments responsible for Aisamy's wellbeing, and pleaded for her father's immediate release.
She said the family had no other details regarding her father's physical condition, and added that they had been in contact with international humans rights activists and she hopes something can be arranged that would allow her to meet with her father.
Aisamy was abducted in May, in the town of Aley, minutes after leaving his daughter's home for a walk.
A report revealed Tuesday by police chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said investigations into Aisamy's abduction were not yet complete, but that data collected so far indicates similarities between his kidnapping and that of the four brothers from the Jasem family, who Rifi has said were kidnapped by ISF personnel working at the Syrian Embassy in Beirut.
On May 26, the Syrian Council for Human Rights reported that Aisamy went missing amid "mysterious circumstances."
According to Sharafeddine, her father went missing after he left her home in the afternoon of May 24.
He was spending the summer with his Syrian wife in Aley, where Sharafeddine, who is married to a local resident, lives.
Aisamy fled Syria in 1966 over political differences with then President Hafez al Assad and has since lived in Iraq, Egypt and the United States. He has not reportedly been involved in politics since 1992.
"At first I thought it was an accident, given my father's age," Sharafeddine has said in an earlier statement. "But in light of the role he played in politics, we now think it may be an abduction."
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