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 KHADDAM RESIGNS: SUNNI RIFT IN SYRIA
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CIA Report

18 Posts

Posted - 06/06/2005 :  6:15:09 PM  Show Profile
DAMASCUS -- June 06, 2005; 4:41 PM

Syrian Vice-President Abdul Halim Khaddam has resigned from the government and the ruling Baath party. Mr Khaddam is said to have made his announcement during a meeting of the Baath party on the first day of a conference focusing on reform.

No reason has been given for his resignation and it is not known if the party has accepted it. Mr Khaddam, a veteran hardliner, is seen as an architect of Syrian influence in neighbouring Lebanon and as the main Sunni partner in the Syrian government.

His resignation is an indication of the rift between the Sunni majority in Syria and the ruling Baath party dominated by Alawites.

Truth Squad

114 Posts

Posted - 06/06/2005 :  6:19:49 PM  Show Profile
BBC News confirms news of Khaddam resignation:

Monday, 6 June, 2005, 21:48 GMT 22:48 UK

Syrian vice-president steps down

Syrian Vice-President Abdul Halim Khaddam has resigned from the government and the ruling Baath party.
Mr Khaddam is said to have made his announcement during a meeting of the Baath party on the first day of a conference focusing on reform.

No reason has been given for his resignation and it is not known if the party has accepted it.

Mr Khaddam, a veteran hardliner, is seen as an architect of Syrian influence in neighbouring Lebanon.

BBC regional analyst Daniel Nassif says Mr Khaddam's influence has grown weaker recently.

International pressure earlier this year forced Syria to withdraw the troops it had sent to Lebanon during the 1975-1990 civil war.


Read the article in full at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4615889.stm
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Truth Squad

114 Posts

Posted - 06/07/2005 :  11:38:02 AM  Show Profile
CNN Confirms the news today based on a report by the Associated Press (AP):

Syrian vice president 'to resign'
Tuesday, June 7, 2005 Posted: 4:59 AM EDT (0859 GMT)

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam intends to resign to make way for the younger generation, an official of the ruling Baath Party said Tuesday.

Khaddam, 73, who wielded considerable influence in Lebanon for many years as Syria's top official for the neighboring state, indicated he intends to retire on Monday during the first day of the Baath Party congress, said Ahmed Haj Ali, a former Information Ministry adviser.

Rumors of Khaddam's pending resignation have circulated for days. On Monday, Emigrants Affairs Minister Bouthaina Shaaban, who is spokeswoman for the congress, denied that Khaddam had resigned.

Khaddam became vice president in 1984 after serving as deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the 1970s.

"The man would like to open the way for the younger generation," Haj Ali told The Associated Press. "It is his personal wish. He wants to give a positive example to others."

Khaddam has been a member of the Baath Party's regional command for almost 30 years. During the Lebanese civil war, he was Syria's top official for the country, frequently visiting Beirut and heavily involved in the day to day politics of the country.

Khaddam was the only Syrian official to attend the funeral in Beirut of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed by a bomb on Feb. 14.

The Lebanese opposition blamed Syria and the pro-Syrian Lebanese government for Hariri's assassination -- a charge both authorities rejected. Khaddam had a close personal relationship with Hariri.

He survived several assassination attempts in the late 70s and early 80s, one of them apparently by the Muslim Brotherhood.
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CIA Report

18 Posts

Posted - 12/31/2005 :  4:45:34 PM  Show Profile
Khaddam: "I serve Syria not the regime" "Assad Threatened Hariri" "I was shocked to learn that Syria could have assassinated Hariri"
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fraizzze

Canada
58 Posts

Posted - 12/31/2005 :  6:14:22 PM  Show Profile  Visit fraizzze's Homepage
Finally the truth is coming from the mouth of someone who was in the heart of the Syrian regime.
We need justice, and national consensus, finally.
I wish you all peace for 2006
Fred
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Pietro

Lebanon
64 Posts

Posted - 01/01/2006 :  07:39:45 AM  Show Profile
The Fall of Damascus has begun, enjoy!
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