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[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 133 Introduced in House (IH)]

107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 133

 Expressing the sense of Congress relating to remarks by the President 
                      of Syria concerning Israel.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2001

    Mr. Flake (for himself, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Cantor, and Mr. Wexler) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of Congress relating to remarks by the President 
                      of Syria concerning Israel.

Whereas on March 27, 2001, at the first regular Arab summit gathering in more 
        than 10 years, President Bashar al-Assad used his speech to lash out at 
        Israel;
Whereas on March 28, 2001, the New York Times reported, ``In electing Mr. Sharon 
        to be their leader, President Assad said, Israelis had chosen a man who 
        hated anything to do with Arabs and had dedicated his career to killing 
        them.'';
Whereas President Assad additionally said, ``We say that the head of the 
        government is a racist, it's a racist government, a racist army and 
        security force,'' he said, adding that by extension, ``It is a racist 
        society and it is even more racist than the Nazis.'';
Whereas on March 28, 2001, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher described 
        President Assad's remarks as, ``absolutely wrong . . . totally 
        unacceptable and inappropriate.'';
Whereas on March 29, 2001, the Bush administration's top Middle East diplomat, 
        Assistant Secretary of State Edward Walker, responding to Assad's 
        remarks stated, ``His statement at the Arab League was unacceptable, 
        particularly his reference to Zionism as racism.'';
Whereas on May 5, 2001, in his welcoming speech to Pope John Paul II, upon the 
        Pope's arrival in Damascus, President Assad said, ``They, Israelis, try 
        to kill all the principles of divine faiths with the same mentality of 
        betraying Jesus Christ and torturing Him, and in the same way that they 
        tried to commit treachery against Prophet Mohammad.'';
Whereas on May 6, 2001, at the Umayyad Mosque, Muhammad Ziyadah, Syria's 
        minister of religious affairs, said, ``We must be fully aware of what 
        the enemies of God and malicious Zionism conspire to commit against 
        Christianity and Islam.'';
Whereas on May 7, 2001, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher condemned 
        President Assad's remarks, ``Our view is that these comments are as 
        regrettable as they are unacceptable. There's no place from anyone or 
        from any side for statements that inflame religious passions and 
        hatred.''; and
Whereas it is only through constructive diplomacy, and not through hateful, 
        counterproductive speech, that peace can possibly be achieved in the 
        Middle East: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That, the Congress--
            (1) condemns Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his 
        inflammatory remarks on March 27, 2001, and May 5, 2001;
            (2) expresses its solidarity with the state and people of 
        Israel at this time of crisis;
            (3) calls upon President Assad and the Syrian Government to 
        refrain from any future inflammatory remarks;
            (4) commends the Administration for its swift response to 
        President Assad's remarks; and
            (5) urges the Administration to emphasize to Syrian 
        Government officials the concerns of the United States about 
        the negative impact such remarks make on Middle East peace 
        negotiations.
                                 <all>
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