Jordan Times
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
King, Assad: Terrorism should be handled with `political, security' means
By Saad G. Hattar
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday agreed that terrorist attacks should be handled with “political and security means” and refused to hold Arabs responsible for those attacks, a Palace official said.
The official said the two leaders underscored the need to spare “innocent civilians” the repercussions of the Sept. 11 airborne strikes on New York and Washington.
“The discussions focused on the latest developments linked to the Sept. 11 incidents and the ensuing measures on Afghanistan,” noted the official in reference to the overnight US and British strikes on Afghanistan.
He said both leaders “underlined the importance of dealing with the phenomenon of terrorism through political and security means and of sparing civilians any negative consequences.”
Assad flew to Amman for a several-hour official visit, his second to the Jordanian capital since he succeeded his late father Hafez Assad as president in June 2000. He attended the Arab summit last March in Amman.
King Abdullah and Assad also agreed that the “Arab people and their causes should not bear the brunt of the latest terrorist attacks,” and called on Israel to end the ongoing “aggression and siege against the Palestinian people and their National Authority.”
They demanded a halt “to the hardships of Palestinian people in light of the attacks and the violations they are facing,” and called for “a comprehensive, just and durable peace settlement in the Middle East.”
For the two leaders, an Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine is a prerequisite for a lasting peace.
Both Syria and Jordan have strongly slammed the terrorist strikes in New York and Washington, but they also voiced their support for Palestinian struggle in the face of Israeli occupation.
In a joint political statement at the end of a two-day meeting of the joint Jordanian-Syrian Higher Committee (see separate story), the two countries said that while they “sympathise with the families of the (nearly 5,500) victims, they also stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against Israeli occupation.”
They lambasted the “Israeli oppressive policy and called on the international community to put an end to this aggression and occupation of Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian lands.”
On another front, Jordan and Syria called for lifting the 11-year old crippling sanctions on Iraq and emphasised the need for safeguarding Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Higher committee was co-chaired by Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb and his Syrian counterpart Mohammad Mustafa Miro.
Both officials later took part in the Jordanian-Syrian summit, which was also attended on the Jordanian side by Chief of the Royal Court Fayez Tarawneh, Foreign Minister Abul Ilah Khatib and head of the General Intelligence Department General Saad Khair.