SARG IMPLEMENTS TRAVEL BAN TO PREVENT "FUTURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000311

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL SY
SUBJECT: SARG IMPLEMENTS TRAVEL BAN TO PREVENT "FUTURE
KHADDAMS"


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen A. Seche, per 1.4 b,d.


1. (C) Summary: In the wake of former VP Abdul Halim
Khaddam's press campaign that began in late December, the
SARG implemented a travel ban on an undetermined number of
current and former officials and military officers. Former
PM Mustafa Miru and his family, as well as relatives of
deceased Minster of Interor Ghazi Kana'an are reportedly
among those who have been prohibited from leaving the
country. One contact characterized the measure as a
"panicked overreaction," an indication of how much Khaddam
has rattled the regime. End Summary.


2. (C) The SARG has implemented a travel ban against certain
former and current officials that it deems to be a threat to
the regime, according to a range of contacts. The ban was
apparently implemented after former VP Khaddam's public
criticism of the regime angered and rattled the SARG.
Ibrahim Hamidi, Damascus-based bureau chief for al-Hayat
newspaper characterized the ban as an understandable
precaution to prevent "future Khaddams" or any potential
coordination between Khaddam and former officials.
Civil-society activist Amr al-Azm was less charitable,
referring to the measure as the regime's "panicked
overreaction" to Khaddam's remarks. In his view, the regime
assessed that post-Khaddam, it had lost the ability "to keep
former officials quiet" with the usual inducement of further
corruption and the implied threat of retribution, so it
needed to move preemptively "to shut people up."


3. (C) The most prominent person caught up in the ban so
far is former PM Mustafa Miru. When he and his family tried
to travel out of Syria in mid-January they were turned around
at Aleppo airport. A Damascus-based journalist for the
Lebanese daily an-Nahar reported January 25 that Miru had
been refused permission to leave the country because of
corruption allegations. A letter from Miru to an-Nahar was
published the following day, denying that he had been
prevented from traveling and threatening to sue the
journalist who wrote the story, although contacts dismissed
his denial as unconvincing. Family members of deceased
Minister of Interior Ghazi Kana'an have also been turned
around, according to Hamidi. A former governor of Damascus
was also reportedly prevented from traveling.


4. (C) It is not clear how many people have been included
in the ban. Hamidi speculated that former senior military
officers like Ali Duba and other former SARG officials,
including senior Ba'ath Party officials, as well as some
current officials, like SMI general Rustom Ghazali, are
likely candidates. However, Hamidi said he had not seen any
list and could not say with certainty who was on it. He
noted that it would not be difficult to surmise who the SARG
would put on such a list, saying that it would include people
the regime was "sensitive about," i.e., those who represented
a potential threat. Some contacts pointed to a much broader
ban on foreign travel, with al-Azm saying it reportedly even
included most current Ba'ath Party Regional Command figures.
It is also not clear how long the ban might stay in place or
to what degree it is being modified over time.


5. (C) Hamidi and others downplayed any anti-corruption
motive as the driving force behind the ban, although the
government is obviously using the corruption theme to justify
publicly any fallout. The government will also use the
threat of an anti-corruption drive, with the potential it
carries for prison time, loss of reputation, and confiscation
of wealth, as "the weapon of choice" with which to cow former
or current officials who might contemplate stepping out of
line, said al-Azm.



SECHE