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Shake-up in Syrian cabinet
Faruq al-Shara, Syria's long-serving foreign minister, has been named as vice president, state news agency Sana reported, replacing Abdul Halim Khaddam, branded a traitor by Damascus. Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, replaced Shara with Walid Muallem, currently deputy foreign minister, in a cabinet shake-up that left the key posts of prime minister and defence minister unchanged. Bassam Abdelmajid was named interior minister. He replaces Ghazi Kanaan, the former Syrian intelligence chief in neighbouring Lebanon, who committed suicide in October.
Wonder if Bassam will fall or be pushed?
Shara, 68, has been foreign minister since 1984 and has been a fierce critic of Israel and its occupation of the Golan Heights. Khaddam, a hardline Baath party member, quit last year and has since accused Damascus of involvement in the murder a year ago of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Syria's official daily Ath-Thawra said in January that Khaddam, now in exile in Paris, would be tried for high treason. He would also be investigated for corruption and his assets seized. Al-Shara is seen as a pragmatic but tough negotiator.
Posted by: Fred 2006-02-12
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=142370