Occupation forces detain Iraqi scientists

The Iraqi higher education Minister Ziad Abdul Razzaq al-Aswad said that the American occupation forces detained four days ago three Iraqi scientists from the technological university in Baghdad, and they are being subjected to intensive investigations relating to Iraq's mass destruction weapons during the rule of the toppled Iraqi regime.

The minister explained that the three detainees are teachers taken by force from the university, and that the ministry of higher education and scientific researches sent complaints to the Governing Council. The first includes a denunciation from the ministry over violating the sovereignty of the university and detaining its teaching staff, and the second includes adding the subject of protecting teachers in the agenda of the cabinet, and ensuring immunity to them, and preventing their detention.

The American measure coincided with the current and sudden visit of the Iraqi Governing Council, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim to Damascus, and the refusal of al-Hakim, who is accompanied by the two members of the council Sameer al-Smeidi and Yunadim Youssef to make statements.

Meantime, the official spokesman for al-Hakim Hamid al-Bayati stressed that the chairman of the Governing Council will meet with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and several Syrian officials to discuss means of strengthening bilateral relations in various fields.

For his part, the political analysist Ahmad al- Haj said that the visit comes in the framework of preserving historical natural leaderships between the two neighboring states. He added that Syria will concentrate during this visit on fundamental issues to ending the occupation of Iraq, and for the Iraqi people to draw their own constitution and handing them the authority.