Raf'at al-Assad's port closed down in Lattakia
Syria, Politics, 10/21/1999

Syrian officials sources told the London-based al-Hayat daily that the Syrian authorities on Wednesday closed off an "illegal port" built by Raf'at al-Assad in the city of Lattakia on the Syrian coast.

The sources denied reports of detaining any of "Raf'at's supporters," but indicated that several of them were returned to their former army formations.

The Syrian sources made it clear that the authorities also "demolished also the port's equipment, which was built on a territory owned by the state, because the laws bans individuals from building their own ports and all ports in the country are owned and run by the government."

The Syrian sources continued that talks about arresting tens of Raf'at's supporters are "an exaggerated matter and mostly not precise," adding that "legal measures" were taken against Raf'at and several army officers because of their violation of civilian and military laws, being no longer an official in the army or in the government.

The Syrian sources gave a true version of what has been taken place recently saying, "Several police and security men wanted to evacuate a building owned by Raf'at because it is built on a land of a public property, an incident which happened repeatedly in recent years. The authorities evacuated houses built on public lands and owned by high-ranking former and current officials including Raf'at, when a villa owned by him was evacuated."

The sources continued that, "Several of the building's guards tried to resist and refused to comply to instructions to leave the building, and as a result many of them were arrested for just a few hours and then freed after the house was emptied."

The sources added that among other reasons that lead to these "measures" is that Raf'at al-Assad is out of the country and he is no longer an official and he does not have the privilege to enjoy other privileges enjoyed by the officials of having guards and facilities.

In February 1998, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad had removed his brother Raf'at from the post of the vice president. Raf'at was also dismembered from the regional leadership of the Baath Party and totally from the membership of the party, because he is now a member of another political party established by his son, Soumer.

Previous Stories:
  Raf'at al-Assad dismissed from Ba'ath Party   (2/13/1998)
  Syrian President relieves his brother from post of Vice President   (2/9/1998)

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