28 June - 4 July 2001
Issue No.540
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 28 June - 4 July 2001 Issue No.540 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
FIRST VISIT: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad arrived in Paris on Monday on his first official visit to France since taking office following the death of his charismatic father, Hafez Al-Assad, a year ago. Assad held meetings with French President Jacques Chirac, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and other top officials for talks on the Middle East peace process and promoting bilateral relations.
(photo: AFP)
Assad's visit was met with protests by Jewish groups, Christian Lebanese exiles and Syrian human rights organisations, each for their own reasons.
Jewish groups condemned what they described as Assad's "anti-Semitic" remarks, referring to his recent comment that Israel's occupation was worse than Nazism; Christian Lebanese groups called for full withdrawal of Syrian troops from their country; and Syrian human rights activists pressed the young leader to speed up the process of democratisation.
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