Tlas resigns, EU deal, reform, and Turkish relations

EU Trade Accord

European Union member states yesterday agreed to sign the trade accord with Syria, ending months of haggling over a clause about weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the Financial Times reported on May 28.

The accord goes beyond the standard EU format, for the first time including a clause on WMDs. It stipulates that Syria must implement all international non-proliferation accords, co-operate on countering the proliferation of WMDs and set up effective controls for the export, transit and end-use of WMD-related goods and technologies. If not, the accord would be suspended. What exactly this means remains to be seen.

Europe gave a bow to Washington by including the WMD wording but insists that "the show must go on," when it comes to improving relations with Damascus and encouraging economic reform in Syria.

President Bashar al-Asad seems to be finding his sea legs politically. Only last week, Mustafa Tlas retired, the long-time Minister of Defense and old-guard exemplar. Everyone is speculating whether Foreign Minister Shara'a will be next and if Bashar is doing some general old-guard house cleaning. Bashar owed a debt to Tlas for overseeing the smooth transition of power, when Hafiz died. Tlas was a leading protector of the Asad legacy, and Manaf, his son, is smart and much respected by Bashar. The two have been friends since childhood and hung together at the restaurants and cafes of Lataqia during their more care free years. They often went jet skiing together along the beaches of Lasqi. All the same, Mustapha Tlas, had become a millstone around Bashar's neck. He was a constant embarrassment for saying outrageous things. One of his more memorable diatribes was about Arafat, whom he called a son of a whore and worse. He made a big public fuss of Gina Lola Brigetta, much to the shame of the Syrian public. Most notoriously though, he was a loud mouthed anti-Semite. His book, The Matzah of Zion, has gone through numerous printings and is referred to in the foreign press almost as frequently as the Hama massacre. More damaging among fellow officers is his recently publish tell-all memoir about infighting among the top brass of Syria. (I haven't been able to get my hands on it yet. Banned in Syria and Lebanon.) An in-law told me about it and said it is being passed around in Syria, but was full of "lies" and dirt. Should be juicy.

Economic reform is being pushed with increased vigor by Asad. Banking and tax reform will be essential if Syria hopes to compete with the flood of foreign goods that will begin to enter the country from Turkey and the EU. With this new trade agreements Syria has set itself of a course of no return. The most recent Syrian Report says that real-estate prices have risen by 50% in the last year due to improved mortgage availability.

Thursday, May 27, 2004
Syria to forge ahead with privatization
Conference draws 200 bankers
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Assad pledged Wednesday that his country will forge ahead with the privatization of the banking sector in an effort to bolster its economy. "After four decades of state monopoly over the banking sector and executive supervision of monetary policies, the currency and credit council is now in charge of drafting and executing this policy," Assad said in a statement... "We want to develop the banking industry until we reach a competent and efficient system that participates in financing investments and external trade," Assad added.

Around 200 Arab and European bankers, most of them from Britain, attended the congress organized by Fawaz al-Akhrass, the president of the Syrian-British Association and father-in-law of Assad. The event, jointly held in cooperation with the Syrian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also brought together 300 businessmen as well as the directors of six state banks and two private banks.

"The permission to allow four private banks to operate in Syria is only a beginning," Assad said. "Banking reforms constitute an essential element for economic development ... and will be based on the creation of a legal framework, laws on banking secrecy, the fight against money-laundering and currency exchange reforms."

Turkey
Turkish - Syrian relations improve as Turkish - Israeli relations continue to deteriorate.
Thursday, May 27 2004 @ 11:02 PM CDT
IsraelNationalNews.com
May 27, 2004

Turkey, the only Moslem nation with which Israel enjoys full diplomatic, economic and friendly relations, is sending signals that the honeymoon is over. For possibly the fifth time in recent weeks, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of state-sponsored terrorism, while Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that he is considering withdrawing Turkey's Ambassador to Israel "for consultations."

Gul explained yesterday that his country wishes to signal Israel its displeasure at Israel's recent anti-terrorism offensive in southern Gaza. Commentators say that Turkey is also upset at Israel's refusal to allow Turkey to mediate between Israel and Syria, as well as possible Israeli contacts with the Kurds in Iraq; both Turkey and Syria do not want to see a Kurdish state arise in their region.

MK Ehud Yatom (Likud), a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, was critical of Turkey's move. Noting that Turkey has also become a target for Al-Qaeda attacks, he said that it "must decide which camp it belongs to - that of Western nations headed by the US fighting against international terrorism, or the other side."

Meanwhile in Syria

Turkish Minister of State for Trade Affairs, Korshad Tuzman, has underlined his country's determination to boost trade relations and volume of trade exchange between Syria and Turkey.

In a statement to reporters in the Turkish border city of Ghazi Enteb, Tuzman indicated that his scheduled visit to Syria tomorrow accompanied by a group of Turkish businessmen and politicians aims at underlining Turkey's determination to boost trade relations with Syria in spite of the sanctions that some party wants to impose on Syria.

He also stressed Turkey's priority given to boost the volume of trade exchange and investment with Syria and with other neighbouring countries.

Sources at the Turkish Ministry of Trade Affairs, indicated that the delegation which is scheduled to accompany Tuzman during his visit to the Syrian northern city of Aleppo is composed of 30 parliament members and 250 businessmen. The Turkish delegation is scheduled to participate at the Syrian-Turkish Association Forum.

He wants trade between Syria and Turkey to reach $2,000,000 next year and believes that lowering tariffs will help reach this goal. We shall see?