·56. MEED" 31 OCTOBER 1987

supply advanced Maverick air-to-ground to inspect the sheep to be imported. He supply buses to the local Sayyarat missiles has been denied by the official Saudi was also accused of responsibility for Establishment, the daily Press ~gency. The agency reports an shortfalls in the supply of basic Times reports. The buses are to be supplied unidentified official source as saying no such according to barter arrangements. commodities. call was made and the report, published in the Abu Dhabi weekly Al-lttihad, is untrue. The White T rabulsi was accused of impropriety with House was reported to have decided to drop regard to an estimated $5 million contract plans to request congressional approval to to import equipment for local cement supply the m1ssites (MEED 17:1 0:87). However, works. US officials m Wash1ngton are reported as The earlier victims of the purge were TUNISIA saying the adm1nistrat1on may ask congress to construction minister Riyad Baghdadi and reconsider the sate . agriculture minister Mahmoud ai-Kurdi. Cabinet reshuffled A significant reshuffle of cabinet posts has Amnesty slams Asad been ordered by President Bourguiba. SYRIA on torture Announced by Prime Minister Zine ei­ The worldwide human rights organisation Abidine Ben Ali on 27 October, the moves Amnesty International has presented include splitting the Planning & Finance Five bid for detailed evidence of systematic torture of Ministry, and recreating a National power plant detainees by the security services. The Economy Ministry. However, many Five international bids were submitted by Amnesty report notes that the government observers say the most surprising the 19 October deadline tor a contract to has been urged repeatedly to take steps to appointment is that of Planning & Finance build a 300-MW oil-f1red power stat1on in stop the widespread violations of human Minister Ismail Khelil to the post of central the port city of Latakia. The bidding went rights (see page 63). But the authorities bank governor. ahead despite some companies' requests have never responded. Ben Ali says the measures. which affect tor an extension. The report comes at a time when mainly the economic ministries, are The Public Establishment ofElectricity President Asad has made efforts to intended to ensure the successful specified that the offers should be tor a improve Damascus' international image execution of economic reforms announced two-by-150-MW plant or a station with two after diplomatic sanctions were imposed on 22 October (see below) 300-MW turbmes. In the event. all the offers by the EEC and the US. As ad has clamped Another round of changes 1n government submitted were tor the smaller version down on organisations associated with was expected. Sources suggest new (MEED 24 10 87; 8 8 87) terrorist operations abroad. and the EEC appointments are part of a plan to promote The bidders are Switzerland s BBC and Washmgton have responded by lifting younger technocrats. 1n Ime with Brown, Boveri & Company; Italy's the sanct1ons. However. the UK has Bourguiba's campaign-for-a more youthful Gruppo lndustrie Elettromeccaniche per pers1sted 1n demand1ng further action by government. and to brmg m polit1c1ans lmpianti alf'Estero (GIE); Roman1a·s Asad before diplomatic t1es can be closer to Ben AIL The reshuffle seems to Romanergo; Japan s Sumitomo resumed. · have been meant to fulfil the former role Corporation; and a Japanese consort1um The Amnesty report 1ncludes harrowing and further changes are not ruled out. of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and testimomes from former deta1nees analysts say. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. describ1ng the1r expenences under The new Fmance Mm1ster IS Noun Zorgat1. Techmcal otters only have been opened so mterrogat1on. The report g1ves a useful replac1ng the widely-respected Khelil. At far. Pnces and imanc1ng proposals will be run-down of the vanous security the ce.ntral bank. Khelil succeeds opened 1n severai mon!t1:.,, once tr1c apparatuses operat1ng both 1n Svr1a and Mohamed Skh1r1 . a cousm of Equ1pment tcchmcat evatuat1on 1s complete These organ1sat1ons possess Hous1ng &Transport M1n1ster Mansour Tr1e etectriCitv authorllv IS also c·vc:Jiuallnc: v1rtually unchecked powers of arrest anci Skhn1 . who r1as not vet been 01ven a new techn1cat offers for a contract to build a detent1on. Amnesty notes. post. Zorgat11s a finance mm1stry 120-MW power stat1on a: Jandar . nea r In the late 1970s and eariy 1980s. when technocrat. promoted trom secretary ot Horns. The bidders mclude BBC. GIE the government faced the H1reat of state Sum1tomo and Frances Alsthom. The 1nstmect1on from domestiC oppos1t1on Khelil 's move had been rumoured but stil i plant IS to be f1red by petroleum coke groups, notably the Musl1m Brotherhood. took many observers by surpnse, g1ven Its (MEED 15:8 87) Widespread arrest and torture of Synan t1m1ng and the m1n1ster's central econom1c c1t1zens were reported. However, the latest policy-mak1ng role Oflic1als note he wil! be wo more ministers axed Amnesty mvestigat1on 1nd1cates that well-placed to promote reforms at the Two more cabinet ministers have been Palest1ntans 1n Syria and Lebanon have central bank and also negot1ate with dismissed follow1ng votes of no conf1dence become the ma1n target of the Synan cred1tors. Yet the pos1t1on. despite passed by the people's assembly. The secunty serv1ces. The onslaught agamst retaming cabinet rank. lacks the pol1t1ca ! sackmgs. amid allegat1ons of corrupt1on the Palest1ntans IS part of Asad s dnve to clout of h1s former post. and incompetence. follow the d1sm1ssal of destroy the mfluence of PLO Cha1rman Mohamed Ben Hassouna Ghannouch1 two ministers in June-July. The cab1net Yasser Arafat. has been named m1n1ster delegate to the purge is seen to reflect a decision by pnme mimster's offtce responstble for President Asad to pay closer attent1on to IN BRIEF planning. Like Zorgat1. he was made a improving economic management. e Ireland's Unllokomotive has a DM 14 mill1on secretary of state on 1 0 September m a ($800,000) contract to supply shunting observers say (MEED 4 7 87) m1nor reshuffle foreshadowing the latest equ1pment for the General Organisation of announcement (MEED 19:9 87) He will be The most recent VICtims are supply and . The client 1s to decide 1n the home trade m1n1ster R1yad HaJ!Khalll and com1ng weeks whether to pay for the order m one of the youngest m1n1sters 1n8ustry m1n1ster All T rabuls1. Khalil was cash or to take advantage of f1nanc1ng The Nat tonal Economy M1n1stry has been accused of authons1ng the 1m port of proposals These would take the form of a loan recreated under former Industry and 28.000 sheep from Butgana that tnfected ra1sed by London-based GulfGuarantee Trust commerce mmtster Slahedd1ne Ben local herds. caus1ng damage est1mated at w1th back1ng Irom the Kuwait-based Inter-Arab M'Barek. The Industry and commerce. and £:Syr 28 mill1on ($7 milliOn) The assembly Investment Guarantee Corporation. energy and m1nes m1n1strtes have been sa1d the m1n1ster had been negl1gent 1n e Japan ·sMarubenl Corporation has failing to send a vetennary team to Bulgana expressed tnteresttn b1dd1nq tor a contract to contmued on page 59