DATE=12/9/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=SYRIA - GOLAN, PART 1 OF 3 UPDATE
NUMBER=5-44940
BYLINE=DALE GAVLAK
DATELINE=SYRIAN GOLAN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
///Eds. This is the first of a three part series on
Syria; part 2 deals with possible successor to
President Assad; part 3 deals with modernizing the
Syrian economy///
INTRO: Peace talks between Israel and Syria are set
to resume next after nearly a four year break. Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister
Farouk al-Shara will begin initial meetings in
Washington and then move them to the Middle East.
Negotiations stalled over the Israeli occupied Golan
Heights. Syria wants the entire Golan returned, but
Israel says how far it withdraws depends on the extent
of security arrangements and normalization of
relations with Syria. Dale Gavlak visited the Syrian
Golan Heights recently and filed this report.
TEXT: //ACT OF SYRIANS USING MEGAPHONES //
Akram al Halibi calls across the parched, brown valley
to his in-laws on the Israeli-occupied side of the
Golan, using a megaphone. He cannot cross over to meet
them because there is no peace. The people carry on a
playful banter asking how each other are doing. The
38-year-old Syrian T-V actor and his wife, who is also
his cousin, just had a baby in Damascus. They want to
see and speak to their family even at a distance.
/// AL HALIBI ACT IN ARABIC ///
Halibi says that even though there are phone
connections, going to the Golan is the only way
somehow to see family members. Visiting relatives -
in Middle Eastern tradition - is very important
because family ties are so strong. Halibi says,
although a video of the baby was taken and sent, it's
not the same thing as seeing each other, even if it
has to be through a pair binoculars.
There are 5 Syrian villages with some 23-thousand
inhabitants, mainly of the Druze religious sect, that
are on the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. Frequently
villagers from the Syrian side of the Golan marry
people from the other side of the heights, but this is
difficult. In such cases, the International Committee
of the Red Cross (I-C-R-C) facilitates the half-hour
or hour wedding ceremony in the no-man's land
separating Syria and Israel. I-C-R-C spokesman Claude
Voillard explains.
/// VOILLARD ACTUALITY ///
These are very emotional moments because this is
one of the very rare opportunities where people
from both sides of the demarcation line can
meet each other, hug each other, kiss each other
and be able to talk normally to each other.
/// END VOILLARD ACT ///
Mr. Voillard says such wedding ceremonies take place
twice a year. Druze pilgrims wishing to visit holy
sites in Syria are also allowed to cross over the no-
man's land as are students who have secured a place
and permission from both the Israelis and Syrians to
study at Damascus University.
Eighteen-year-old Karim Mahmoud is one of 400 students
from the occupied Golan studying in Damascus.
Enrolled in the university facility of dentistry,
Mahmoud said he wanted to study in Syria because it
provides greater opportunities and is cheaper than in
Israel. But he misses his parents and comes to the
border every couple of weeks with his megaphone to
speak with them. He says he intends to return to his
village of Majd al Shams to work after finishing his
studies.
/// MAHMOUD ACTUALITY ///
I want to go back because I want to do something
for my village.
/// END MAHMOUD ACT///
Syria currently administers 600 square kilometers of
the strategic plateau, while Israel occupies over
twice that amount of land. Syrian authorities claim
Israel has constructed 43 Jewish settlements on the
ruins of some 244 Arab villages. Removing the
settlers and fixing a final border will be a difficult
challenge for the two sides to meet. Still, Syrians,
like Golan official Mohamed Ali, is confident that
Damascus will get the Golan back no matter how long it
will take.
/// ALI ACTUALITY ///
We will liberate it sooner or later; it's our
land. We will get it.
/// END ALI ACT ///
Even Israeli officials familiar with the situation
seem to agree with Mr. Ali. One official recently
told a news agency in Jerusalem that Israel will have
to return all of the Golan if it wants peace with
Damascus. Syria, the official says, won't settle for
getting back less than what Jordan or Egypt got - that
is every bit of land in exchange for peace. (SIGNED)
NEB/DG/GE/PLM/JO
09-Dec-1999 10:13 AM EDT (09-Dec-1999 1513 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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