Posted on 05/05/2004 1:15:02 PM PDT by yonif
Syria has banned a Greek, a Danish and two Maltese ships from its ports because they'd made stops in Israeli ports, and has placed nine Israeli companies on a black list, an Economy Ministry statement said Wednesday.
The Economy Ministry usually acts on recommendations of the office of the Arab boycott of Israel, set up in 1951 by Arab nations to keep companies that did business with Israel from operating in the Arab world. It has little sway anymore, but Syria still acts on its advice.
Mohammed al-Ajami, head of the local office of the Arab boycott of Israel, told The Associated Press that the Greek ship Agios Spyridonk, Danish vessel Puma and the two Maltese ships, Orioni and Medpower, were blacklisted for violating the provisions of the Arab boycott of Israel.
Nine more Israeli companies also were added to the blacklist, a routine procedure whenever the office learns about Israeli ownership of a company.
The ministry statement also lifted the names of two ships from the boycott office's black list, Chahira from North Korea and Italy's Favola, after their owners submitted the required assurances not to visit Israeli ports.
The Syrian ministry in January blacklisted two ships, the Panama Kosmas ship and the Liberian Polsrobbsons ship, for docking at Israeli ports.
The Arab boycott office once was influential _ blacklisting more than 8,500 companies, including Coca-Cola and Ford Motor Co. But the boycott has waned considerably as key Arab countries Egypt and Jordan made peace with Israel. Gulf countries started ignoring it after the interim Israeli-Palestinian accords.
Late last month, the campaign for the Arab boycott of Israel held four days of talks in the Syrian capital of Damascus. They expressed satisfaction Iraq pledged not to trade with the Jewish state and urged Europe to put economic pressure on Israel.
The United States banned its companies from complying with the boycott.
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