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Al-Assad dynasty continues: Bashar firmly in charge |
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June 14, 2000
DAMASCUS (AP) - Syria's heir apparent, Bashar Assad, met Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and vowed to pursue the same policies toward Israel established by his late father.
Albright arrived here in late morning and went straight to the presidential palace, where she viewed the closed casket bearing the remains of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled this nation for 30 years before his death on Saturday. Later, with Albright seated next to him, Bashar Assad said every Syrian "is committed to continue in the same way that President Assad was following." |
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Jordanian King Abdullah II, left, speaks to Bashar Assad, son of late Syrian President Hafez Assad at the presidential palace in Damascus Tuesday, June 13 2000. Abdullah was in Damasucs for the funeral of the late President.(AP PHOTO) |
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The two met with members of the U.S. delegation present and later met one-on-one. The combined meetings lasted about 15 minutes. Summing up the encounter for reporters, Albright said the 34-year old leader "seemed very poised, somebody who is ready to assume his duties."
She said she was very encouraged by Assad's promise to pursue a policy of continuity.
Hafez Assad was one of Israel's most determined foes in the Arab world, but from 1991 on he kept negotiating channels to Israel open.During a March meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton, he appeared inflexibly committed to his demands for recovery of all territorycaptured by Israel. At the same time, he promised not to walk away from the peace process. While awaiting her turn to view the casket, Albright had a brief encounter with former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. Also present was an Iranian delegation led by President Mohammad Khatemi, but it did not cross paths with Albright. Numerous other foreign delegations were viewed around the ornate palace, located atop a hill on the outskirts of the city. The casket was draped with the Syrian flag and was placed on a foundation covered with a black cloth. Three soldiers in full dress uniform stood guard. Pictures of the fallen leader were visible throughout the city as was black bunting, which was placed on fences and the sides of buildings.
Albright was dressed in black and wore a wide-rimmed black hat adorned with a black ribbon. Joining her as members of the U.S. delegation for the funeral were Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and the civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson. Assad towered over Albright when the two met. He said she seemed to have a good grasp of the Syrian reality. "That is very good news for our country and our people to hear that you understand," he said. The meeting was designed mostly to allow Albright to convey her condolences rather than to engage in substantive discussions. A senior American official who accompanied Albright here said he was impressed with the speed with which Bashar Assad seemed to be consolidating his power. The official, asking not to be identified, said that with the backing of his military commanders, the possibility of a strong challenge to his rule seems unlikely over the short term. A generational change in Jordan and Morocco last year and Syria this year suggests that Arab politics may be markedly different in the future, the official said. There are other new elements as well, the official said, pointing to the recent Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and the beginning of talks between Israel and the Palestinians on the most difficult issues that divide them. "We are at a crossroads in terms of new possibilities," the official said.
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