|
Assad issues decree forming new Syrian government
 [Dawn] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... issued a decree to form a new government on Saturday, shaking up many cabinet posts but keeping the heads of the interior, defence and foreign ministries, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? reported. The reappointment of Defence Minister Daoud Rajha will quash widespread rumours, previously denied by the government, that he had been assassinated by rebels who are struggling to bring down President Bashir al-Assad's rule. Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... an Arab diplomat has said that Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... and Qatar are paying salaries to rebel forces fighting in the Syrian revolt against President Bashir al-Assad. "The payment has been going on for months and the agreement was made on April 2 by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with logistical organization from Turkey where some Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions are based," said the source, who requested anonymity. "The point of this is to encourage as many factions of the Syrian army to defect and to organise the FSA, control it and prevent any bad turban organizations from joining it." A front man for Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said on Saturday he was not aware of reports that the kingdom was funding Syrian rebels. The United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... says more than 10,000 people have been killed since violence broke out after Syrian government forces began a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters over a year ago. Syria says at least 2,600 members of its military and security forces have been killed by what it calls foreign-backed "Islamist terrorists". Western and Arab states, meeting on April 1, called on Syrian President Bashir al-Assad to adopt a peace plan brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan  ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo..., withdraw his troops from Syrian cities and allow access for humanitarian aid. They made no mention of arming the FSA but said they would "continue to work on additional appropriate measures with a view to the protection of the Syrian people". US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as For a good time at 3 a.m. call Hillaryand at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another James Baker... said her government was supplying "communications equipment that will help activists organise, evade attacks by the regime and connect to the outside world" and was "discussing with other nations how best to expand this support". The 16-month uprising, which has faced a brutal government crackdown, is increasingly being termed a civil war by foreign observers. Assad argues he is pursuing reforms even as he fights a revolt he says is led by foreign-backed bad turbans. But critics say Assad's appointment of Riyad Hijab as prime minister earlier in June was a sign the president was turning to hardline loyalists. Hijab formed the new government given Assad's approval, Syria TV said on Saturday. Hijab, a former agriculture minister, is a committed member of Assad's Baath Party, which has ruled Syria for nearly four decades since his father Hafez al-Assad took power in 1970. Most of the top government posts were given to Baathist loyalists. Critics consider the cabinet to be largely symbolic and say power in Syria remains in the hands of Assad and his close inner circle of family and security force elites. The new cabinet follows a May 7 parliamentary election which Assad said was part of the path to reform but the opposition boycotted as a sham, insisting the president must step down. Other than Rajha, the ministers to retain their post were Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem. Several new ministries were created in the new cabinet. The moderate Qadri Jamil, a centrist who has said he is speaking both to the government and to rebels, was appointed minister of internal commerce and consumer protection. The post is newly formed and likely to be mostly ceremonial. Posted by: Fred 2012-06-24 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=347118 |