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Syria denies talks with U.S. lawmaker on political detainees
AP, January 1,
2008
DAMASCUS,
Syria: Syria denied Tuesday that President Bashar Assad had
recently discussed detained political prisoners with a
visiting U.S. lawmaker, saying Damascus does not discuss
internal affairs with foreigners, the official news agency
reported.
Rep. Patrick
Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat, met with Assad on Sunday
and said afterward the two discussed the issue of human
rights in Syria, where hundreds of political prisoners and
rights activists are held, according to local and
international rights groups.
The U.S.
lawmaker, who was on a two-day visit to Syria with Senator
Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, said Assad
told him that his government only imprisons opposition
figures who are linked to foreigners and promised to release
members of the so-called "Damascus Declaration." The
declaration was signed by a group of Syrian and Lebanese
intellectuals who urged the Syrian government to improve
ties with Lebanon, a sensitive issue in Syria.
Syria dismissed
Kennedy's remarks Tuesday, saying Damascus would never
discuss such issues with foreigners.
"Syria
categorically refuses to discuss its internal affairs with
any foreign official," Syria's state news agency SANA quoted
an unnamed official as saying.
U.S.-Syrian
relations soured after the 2005 assassination of former
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a car bombing.
Washington pulled its ambassador out of the country over
suspected Syrian involvement in the attack, which Damascus
denies.
The U.S. has
also criticized Syria for not doing enough to prevent
militants from crossing its border into Iraq — although
American officials have said recently that Damascus has
stepped up its efforts.
Relations
appeared to warm briefly following Syria's attendance at a
recent U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference, which was
widely seen as an attempt to gain favor with Washington.
But both sides
have since lashed out at one another, each accusing the
other of meddling in Lebanon, where the Western-backed
government is locked in a political standoff with the
pro-Syrian opposition. The U.S. also disapproves of
Damascus' support for anti-Israel militant groups and
alliance with Iran. |
