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U.S. Calls Syria Detention Of Diplomat "Unacceptable"
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The
U.S.
protested "in the strongest terms" against the detention
of the diplomat, Boucher
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WASHINGTON
, March 9
(IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The United States said
Syria
detained an
American diplomat for an hour Monday, March 8, in what it called an
"unacceptable" violation
of diplomatic practice.
The
United States, which has tense relations with Syria, protested
"in the strongest terms" against the detention of the
diplomat who was watching a rights protest in Damascus, State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters according to
Reuters.
Syrian
security officials apologized and released him unharmed but the
United States
was demanding
an explanation of how an easily identified diplomat could be detained,
he said.
"The
detention of diplomats, no matter how brief, is a clear violation of
Vienna Conventions. It is not acceptable," the spokesman said,
declining to identify the diplomat.
Officials
at the Syrian Embassy in
Washington
were not
immediately available for comment.
The
United States and Syria have long had strained relations due to
Washington's accusations Damascus supports what it calls “terror
groups” and the Bush administration has been increasingly pressuring
the Middle East nation.
Under
legislation the U.S. President signed in December 2003, he
will reportedly impose sanctions within weeks on
Syria
.
Syria
, which faces a possible ban on
U.S.
businesses investing there, says its support for Palestinian and
Lebanese resistance groups fighting Israeli occupation is merely
political.
Demonstration
In
Damascus
, Syrian police arrested more than 30 people Monday at a human rights
sit-in as the country's ruling Baath party marked 41 years in power,
the Human Rights Association of Syria (HRAS) said according to Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Three
foreign journalists covering the demonstration outside the Syrian
parliament were briefly detained.
"The
security forces arrested more than 30 people, including activists and
Syrian civilians, at a sit-in in front of the parliament organized by
the Committees for the Defense of Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights
in Syria (CDDS)," HRAS said in a statement.
"We
denounce this aggression against the right of assembly and freedom of
expression and we demand the immediate release of the human rights
activists," it said.
It
said CDDS spokesman Aktham Naysse, a lawyer and dissident who spent
six years in prison, was among those arrested.
CDDS
is the sponsor of an unprecedented petition, which has gathered more
than 6,000 signatures, urging greater freedoms that was to have been
presented to the authorities on the March 8 celebration.
Last
month, CDDS announced the presentation had been delayed until March
17.
Signatories
of the petition are mainly democracy activists, lawyers and
intellectuals demanding radical change from President Bashar al-Assad,
including political reforms, the lifting of the state of emergency and
the release of all political prisoners.
It
says the state of emergency, in place since 1963, has "led to the
paralysis of society and to the imprisonment of thousands of citizens
for political reasons."
The
petition also calls on the government to shut down special state
courts where defendants have no right of appeal and put an end to
arbitrary arrests.
The
three journalists detained while covering the demonstration Monday
were Kim Ghattas of the British Broadcasting Corporation, Neil
MacFarquhar of the New York Times and his Egyptian photographer, said
a witness who did not wish to be identified.
"They
were freed an hour later. They were treated properly," he said.
The
arrests came as
Syria
's Arab Socialist Baath party marked its 41st year in power with
low-key celebrations, standing alone after neighbouring
Iraq
's branch lost control with the fall of
Baghdad
in April 2003.
The
arrests came as Syria's Arab Socialist Baath (resurrection) party
marked its 41st year in power with low-key celebrations, standing
alone after neighboring Iraq's branch lost control with the toppling
of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003.
The
traditional meeting organized every year at
Damascus
University
, when Syrian and Baath leaders vaunt the party's achievements since
taking power on
March 8, 1963
, was not being held.
One
official acknowledged that "the style of celebrating the event
has changed", although he denied any link with changes in
Iraq
.
The
Baath party, born officially in 1947 in
Damascus
, preaches Arab unity. It took power in
Iraq
on
February 8, 1963
in a coup d'etat, and one month later another coup saw it installed in
Syria
.
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