Syria: why the EU and US think differently

By David Cronin

Date: 06/11/03

ALLEGATIONS that at least one of the suicide bombers who killed 35 people in Iraq on 27 October was Syrian have deepened US suspicions that Damascus is harbouring terrorists. It may be just a matter of time before US President George W. Bush inducts Syria into his perceived "axis of evil".

Far from shunning Syria as a "rogue state", the EU is on the precipice of securing a deal that will upgrade the status of its relations with the country.

Five-and-a-half years after they commenced, negotiations on an association agreement between the two sides have entered the final furlong.

During a recent conference in Damascus, Mohammad Naji Otri, the Syrian premier, and Frank Hesske, the European Commission's envoy to the city, both indicated the pact - designed to bolster economic and political ties - could be signed by the end of this year.

For the EU this development is an important part of the Barcelona Process, which underpins relations with its Mediterranean partners. Syria is alone among the 12 partners in not yet signing an agreement.

But pundits say concluding an accord with a country that Bush accuses of developing chemical weapons will tarnish the EU's image in Washington. It could even be argued that the EU and US have diametrically opposed views about relations with Syria: at a time when the EU is consolidating its trade links, a law paving the way for sanctions against Damascus is making its way through American legislature.

"The US is a bit miffed at Europeans allegedly seeking to benefit on the trade front," says Fraser Cameron, director of studies at the European Policy Centre. "Yet all Europeans right across the board agree with the EU position on Syria. It's unlikely the Americans will split the Europeans on this."

Iason Athanasiadis, an Athens-based commentator on the Middle East, argues there is a profound ignorance in the West about Syria. Writing in the Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star, he points out that Damascus has long been opposed to Islamic extremism. For instance, the late president Haffez al-Assad (who was succeeded by his son Bashar in 2000) suppressed an Islamic revolt in 1982.

"Accused of funnelling Arab mujahideen and weapons into Iraq, and threatened with the prospect of economic and political sanctions through the [US] Syria Accountability Act, a trapped [Bashar] al-Assad is turning to the EU for political coverage, much as Syria turned to the Soviet Union in the 1960s," writes Athanasiadis.

"Whatever the underlying reason for the recent torrent of rhetoric [in the US], one sure result of any attempt to destabilize Syria will be to create another failed state in the place of a problem-ridden country set on a steady path of reform."

In forging closer ties with Bashar al-Assad, the EU's stated aim has been to encourage him to remain on a reformist path.

A European Commission official involved in negotiations says the remaining hurdles in relation to the accord mainly relate to agricultural tariffs.

The EU executive has insisted that clauses be included in the agreement, under which Damascus would commit itself to upholding the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and vigorously fight terrorism. These would allow for the deal to be suspended if Syria was found to be contravening it.

Nevertheless, the Union has already come under fire for not putting enough pressure on al-Assad to allow greater freedom of expression.

In its 2003 annual report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) cites Commission estimates that 66% of Syrian exports go to the EU. But HRW says that, in the previous 12 months, "the EU did not undertake vigorous public advocacy on behalf of Syrian supporters of human rights and political reform, despite substantial leverage".

The group berates the EU for not making the release of non-violent political dissidents a "benchmark" for continuing the association agreement talks.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International reiterated its call for ending the state of emergency in Syria, under which 14 civil rights campaigners were arrested in August. By definition, Amnesty notes, a state of emergency is "a temporary legal response to an exceptional and grave threat to the nation". Yet Syria has had a state of emergency in place since 1963.

Another reason why the EU is taking a more nuanced approach to Syria is because it recognizes that a durable Middle East peace settlement will require a constructive attitude from Damascus. This means gradually building bridges between Syria and Israel.

The size of that task was graphically illustrated on 5 October, when Ariel Sharon ordered an air strike against an alleged terrorist training camp in Syria.

Former Washington Post foreign editor Bill Drozdiak notes the "mixed signals" emanating from the US about the suspected link between Syria and extremism.

While Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defense secretary, has accused Syria of fostering terrorists, the CIA intimates that Damascus has supplied it with information about violent subversives.

"Americans say the Syrians are part of the "axis of evil" and want to isolate them," adds Drozdiak. "The Europeans say that by isolating them, you're driving them further into the corner and that it's much better to get them to cooperate. I certainly think the European approach is justified."

Commentary.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/syria/intro/index.htm http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/syria/intro/index.htm

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