WASHINGTON, 1 July 2005 — The US government yesterday moved to freeze the assets of Syria’s interior minister and a military intelligence chief, accusing them of abetting terrorism and destabilizing the region.
The Treasury Department named Syria’s Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan and Rustum Ghazali, who had espionage responsibility for neighboring Lebanon, as “Specially Designated Nationals” under an antiterrorism presidential order.
“Today’s designation freezes any assets the designees may have located in the United States and prohibits US persons from engaging in transactions with these individuals,” it said in a press release.
The US government said it believed that Kanaan and Ghazali “have directed the Syrian Arab Republic Government’s (SARG) military and security presence in Lebanon and or contributed to the SARG’s support for terrorism.”
“Both Ghazali and Kanaan allegedly engaged in a variety of corrupt activities and were reportedly the beneficiaries of corrupt business deals during their respective tenures in Lebanon,” the treasury added.
It said that before being replaced by Ghazali in late 2002, Kanaan served as Syrian Military Intelligence (SMI) chief for Lebanon for about 20 years.
“Actions like today’s are intended to financially isolate bad actors supporting Syria’s efforts to destabilize its neighbors,” Treasury Secretary John Snow said in the statement.
“We are seeing democracy take hold in Lebanon and other places in the Middle East, yet Syria continues to support violent groups and political strife,” he said.
“Syria needs to join its neighbors in embracing the progress toward liberty.”
The move comes after the US administration froze Wednesday the assets of eight Syrian, North Korean and Iranian entities accused of spreading weapons of mass destruction. Ghazali left Lebanon when Syria withdrew last of its troops from the country in April to end a 29-year presence there.
