SYRIATV — broadcast
20261012 223000 UTC
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[00:00:48] your permission, to
[00:00:55] a problem with the state, it is not
[00:02:08] himself. I mean, because no one has the right
[00:02:11] Accusations were made against Ekf Agricultural Investment Company,
[00:02:14] which is affiliated with the Sovereign Fund, of seizing properties and lands
[00:02:18] owned by those who are absent from their areas. The director of Ekf Company in Hama
[00:02:21] told Syria TV that the company
[00:02:25] took control of lands in
[00:02:28] forces shelled who hears this Sir, are you not based in Paris? Come to the villages empty of their residents with the aim of preserving the properties and informed
[00:02:31] their owners of the possibility of receiving them immediately upon providing ownership documents.
[00:02:35] He added that the lands of those involved in committing violations
[00:02:39] and crimes against Syrians are subject to precautionary seizure,
[00:02:42] explaining that the file of these lands is directly related to the
[00:02:46] Illegal Enrichment Combat Committee. He confirmed that the company returned approximately
[00:02:50] And what do I say about Article 16 or 40,000 dunams
[00:02:52] to their owners after providing ownership
[00:02:55] documents.
[00:03:00] The land was seized. They said the economic situation in Hama
[00:03:03] deteriorated. We came here and they asked for official papers from us.
[00:03:07] We provided the papers and came
[00:03:09] here, and thank God, it worked out. The problem was solved.
[00:03:12] Engineer Munther Al-Zuhouri,
[00:03:17] Director of Ekfa Agricultural Investment Company
[00:03:20] used to distribute his salary to in Hama, joins us from Hama, and Bassam Salem, the lawyer
[00:03:22] and legal consultant from Paris. Welcome to both of you. Professor Munther,
[00:03:26] why did Ekfa company confiscate
[00:03:29] vast lands in the countryside of Hama?
[00:03:32] Peace
[00:03:35] be upon you and God's mercy. And upon
[00:03:37] you be peace.
[00:03:39] Enrichment Committee for the Sovereign Fund to distribute to First of all, we will not call it confiscation. It is a matter of taking
[00:03:43] over.
[00:03:45] As your correspondent came to us and gave us a complete report that
[00:03:49] these lands were taken over
[00:03:52] by absent people who we don't know anything about at first.
[00:03:56] So, in our case, we control the area from the chaos
[00:03:59] that exists. We took over
[00:04:02] Fund does not have the right to seize the all the lands. And I went about two years ago and met with the absent people in the
[00:04:05] ruling that specifies this Masyaf area.
[00:04:07] I informed them that anyone who is absent should bring
[00:04:11] the supporting documents to our office in Hama and submit them. When
[00:04:16] complete in their authenticity is verified, of course, the condition is that he is not
[00:04:19] involved with the former regime in any operations against
[00:04:23] Syrians. So, directly, routine procedures. He goes to the
[00:04:26] governorate, brings us the transfer here, and then we
[00:04:30] hand over the lands to the absent owner immediately. We handed over
[00:04:33] a large number of lands on this basis. Okay,
[00:04:36] Professor Munther, but usually, shouldn't there be a legal basis? What
[00:04:40] is the legal basis, and how is it verified? I mean, you say, for example, involved
[00:04:44] with the former regime. Who will prosecute? Who will
[00:04:47] decide that, dear? The reliance, of course,
[00:04:50] is on the
[00:04:52] independence, from security apparatus at first. I mean,
[00:04:55] the security apparatus, and as they say, let's say, every
[00:04:59] region. Like, let's
[00:05:01] say, there is a village called Khattab, for example. Everyone knows
[00:05:05] that a certain person, say, Ahmed Al-Omar, is known for his crimes against
[00:05:10] His Excellency the President and considered it part of Syrians. Okay? The verification
[00:05:13] is through whom? Through security
[00:05:16] person. When all parties agree
[00:05:20] and confirm that this person
[00:05:23] state, then we have nothing to do with it. His review is referred to the Illegal
[00:05:27] Enrichment Committee. The Illegal Enrichment Committee ultimately directs us. They are
[00:05:30] the concerned party in this matter. They either confirm
[00:05:34] the seizure or send us a letter to lift the seizure. It's just
[00:05:38] that such a matter requires a court
[00:05:41] ruling, a legal judiciary, Professor
[00:05:44] Munther, not a security matter. I mean, right, right, right, right, my good
[00:05:48] man. No, we have something called the Economic Committee. Okay?
[00:05:51] We had something called the Economic Committee that seized
[00:05:54] it and transferred it to us initially before the formation of the Illegal
[00:05:57] Enrichment Committee. Okay? After the Illegal Enrichment Committee was formed,
[00:06:01] any seizure anywhere in Syria is exclusively through
[00:06:05] a decision from the Illegal Enrichment Committee. We are now only
[00:06:08] an investment company, an agricultural investment company.
[00:06:12] But the one that transfers the decision to us is the Illegal Enrichment Committee.
[00:06:15] Okay? So, Professor Munther, Ekfa
[00:06:18] company is a private, non-
[00:06:20] governmental company? No. Well, it is a
[00:06:23] public company.
[00:06:26] It is a public governmental
[00:06:29] company, a public agricultural investment company
[00:06:32] affiliated with the Sovereign Fund.
[00:06:35] Okay?
[00:06:37] The arrangement, the arrangement, how is the arrangement? We have something called the Illegal
[00:06:41] Enrichment Committee. Okay? It is the one that makes
[00:06:43] the decisions. The Illegal Enrichment Committee transfers
[00:06:48] the Sovereign Fund. Each one, for example, the land to the Ekfa company. There are
[00:06:52] other companies and other sectors. For example, this one who issued the decision
[00:06:55] against him, what does he have in terms of seizures or takeovers?
[00:06:59] So they distribute them, each according to their specialization. We are an agricultural investment company only. We
[00:07:02] have nothing to do with anything else. So, it is a governmental arm
[00:07:06] of the Sovereign Fund. Of course, my dear, it is a public entity.
[00:07:10] And who manages the company?
[00:07:14] Mr. Muhammad Hanouf is the General Manager of the company.
[00:07:18] Hmm. Okay. I'll take the opinion of Professor
[00:07:22] Bassam Salem. Good evening. What is the legal
[00:07:24] assessment of this, I mean, the seizure
[00:07:28] of these lands?
[00:07:31] Sir, honestly, I have nothing more to say legally after what
[00:07:35] the professor said, and I hope that there is no Arab or national investor
[00:07:40] speech, because this speech is terrifying. I mean, we are threatening
[00:07:44] private property, which was protected by the constitutional declaration signed by His Excellency
[00:07:48] President Ahmed Al-Shar. We have articles, we have Article
[00:07:51] 8, which talked about the return of the displaced, Article 11, which
[00:07:55] guarantees investment lives, and we talk about Article 42
[00:07:58] and Article 43.
[00:08:02] Article 17? I mean, the professor violated the constitution
[00:08:06] in all its articles, if we didn't also talk about himself.
[00:08:09] If it is really Ekfa company or a public company
[00:08:13] or affiliated with the Sovereign Fund, even the Sovereign Fund,
[00:08:17] according to Decree 113 issued by the President of the Republic, specifies
[00:08:21] its powers. It is not entitled to expropriate private property,
[00:08:24] but rather to manage state property and must submit
[00:08:27] a quarterly and annual report and must
[00:08:31] specify its sources. Today, we are all surprised that Ekfa company is
[00:08:34] part of the Sovereign Fund. The Sovereign Fund has been around
[00:08:38] since the date of the announcement of the decree announced by His Excellency the President,
[00:08:42] and it has not yet submitted any project, even
[00:08:44] in the decree that announced and established the
[00:08:48] Sovereign Fund 113, it must specify its sources. Well,
[00:08:52] where are these sources? Who determines that these lands belong to the Sovereign
[00:08:55] Fund? When was it seized? I mean, you mentioned,
[00:08:59] sir, and you are a person who is supposed to have a media background and not a legal
[00:09:02] background, you asked the brother, "Well, there must be trials.
[00:09:06] Who determines if this was required?" I say, even if
[00:09:09] Bashar al-Assad himself is the owner of the land, the Sovereign
[00:09:14] land except by a court
[00:09:17] thing. I mean, it is not that the people of the village agreed that so-and-so is wanted,
[00:09:21] so I am a company from this Ekfa company. Is there
[00:09:25] a legal definition according to Decree 113, which defined
[00:09:28] the Sovereign Fund and stated that Ekfa company is one of its branches?
[00:09:31] And even if it states this, it is not an entity
[00:09:34] with security or judicial
[00:09:38] or economic authority affiliated with the Ministry of Economy
[00:09:41] to seize citizens' property, private property.
[00:09:44] I repeat, Decree 113 specified
[00:09:48] and granted powers to the Sovereign Fund to manage public property
[00:09:52] of the state only, not private property
[00:09:56] and private lands of those who are involved or displaced. Basically, these
[00:09:59] are considered part of the displaced, as Ekfa company
[00:10:03] does with lands in Afrin and others, and now in Masyaf and other such
[00:10:07] areas. Article 8 of the constitution protected them. These
[00:10:10] lands are private property that should not be touched
[00:10:14] at all. And now I want to know, am I dealing with the professor
[00:10:17] according to Decree 113, which was issued by
[00:10:22] the Sovereign Fund, to start the dialogue? Or am I dealing
[00:10:26] with a private company that has a market and trading and shares and a stock exchange
[00:10:30] on Telegram platforms? I mean, we also don't know that there are
[00:10:33] many arms of Ekfa company. Define the entity for me,
[00:10:37] I mean, even now I went to the website of Ekfa company. It says it is a private
[00:10:41] company based in Idlib.
[00:10:43] This is how it describes itself. I am not saying this about it. It is the one
[00:10:47] that describes itself in this capacity. Hmm. Professor
[00:10:50] Munther, indeed, I also visited the Ekfa
[00:10:54] company website. It says it is an investment company that appears to be a private company. But now you say
[00:10:57] it is affiliated with the Sovereign Fund and is a government
[00:11:01] arm, and therefore there is a misleading description now.
[00:11:04] These lands, for example, are private property, as Professor
[00:11:08] Bassam said. You are converting them into public property. How
[00:11:11] is that? Just let me respond, with
[00:11:13] the professor.
[00:11:16] First of all, who expropriated private property? You
[00:11:20] seized called expropriation.
[00:11:23] It is called protection of lands until their
[00:11:27] owners return, until their owners return and receive the lands. This is not
[00:11:30] expropriation. Okay.
[00:11:33] Okay. Expropriation. Expropriation
[00:11:37] means that I ask a question.
[00:11:41] What is the legal status of Ekfa company, which is an investment
[00:11:44] company and has nothing to do with seizing lands?
[00:11:47] What is the legal status?
[00:11:51] The legal status is illegal enrichment. We are an investment
[00:11:55] company. We receive judicial decisions from the Illegal
[00:11:58] Enrichment Committee, and we, as a company, are only responsible for implementing this law
[00:12:02] from the Illegal Enrichment Committee. The professor can go and review the Illegal Enrichment Committee and ask them
[00:12:06] how they make decisions. But as for expropriation, so that he doesn't change
[00:12:09] the names, we are not expropriating anyone's property, nor are we violating the constitution of the President.
[00:12:13] Not at all. We have a temporary seizure until
[00:12:16] the owners of these lands attend, receive their lands, and proceed directly. The procedures are easy
[00:12:20] and smooth. Okay, but you are assuming
[00:12:24] in advance that the lands are confiscated,
[00:12:27] and then if someone turns out to be wrong, you say you return the lands. I mean, it is not
[00:12:30] confiscation. It is a
[00:12:34] temporary seizure until their owners attend, because they are
[00:12:38] absent. And today, if we have land that no one
[00:12:42] is occupying, okay?
[00:12:46] You, you think like that, even if the professor is talking, even if he knows anything
[00:12:49] about agriculture, if the land is neglected, the tree will
[00:12:52] wither. Well, but this is private
[00:12:56] property. It becomes public property of the state.
[00:12:59] No, no, no, no. It is private property. It remains private property until
[00:13:03] the concerned party attends and proceeds, with the exception of those against
[00:13:06] whom an illegal enrichment
[00:13:08] decision is issued.
[00:13:11] Okay? As for the general public, it is private property.
[00:13:14] It remains private property until they attend. And they attended, and we have
[00:13:18] huge numbers, 40 to 50 thousand dunams were returned to their owners
[00:13:22] who received them, and they are now working on them and investing in them. And
[00:13:27] Professor Bassam says, Professor, I mean, that it is not seizure of lands. It is a
[00:13:31] takeover for absent people who are not
[00:13:34] currently present. This is what he says. And I reiterate
[00:13:37] my point that I am not going to ask the Illegal Enrichment Committee or the Sovereign
[00:13:41] Fund, because we are honestly lost in the descriptions and entities. I am dealing
[00:13:45] with law and decrees issued by the President of the Republic, which defined
[00:13:48] its powers. And with those decrees, from those decrees,
[00:13:52] I am now dealing. I am talking about a Sovereign Fund, not about Ekfa. Does the Sovereign Fund
[00:13:55] have the right to assume that all landowners are rebels until the
[00:13:59] opposite is proven? I mean, this is not logical. This is against the law, against human
[00:14:03] rights, and against Islamic law and religion itself. And you do not have the right, if you left
[00:14:07] the land for more than a year or two, to seize it. And you know, if you are
[00:14:10] active in agriculture and you are a religious and bearded person, you do not have
[00:14:14] the right to own someone else's land, even if the crops
[00:14:17] were damaged. After a certain period, its ownership reverts to the state. This is if I am talking about
[00:14:21] Islamic law, the law of Imam Malik or the law of Imam Abu Hanifa. I mean,
[00:14:25] okay? I don't know what domain I will walk with the professor. Will
[00:14:28] I deal with him with the law and decrees and constitutions issued by the President
[00:14:32] of the Republic, or will I deal with him with Islamic law and religion and custom
[00:14:35] and law, honestly? Because I still
[00:14:38] want it. Okay, Hussein, please,
[00:14:41] and since you are a religious person, when do you have the right,
[00:14:45] according to Islamic law, to seize property?
[00:14:48] My dear, I am talking to you explicitly according to Islamic law and religion.
[00:14:51] And since you are a religious person, when do you have the right to seize
[00:14:55] private land? I tell you
[00:14:59] why you don't say why. You answer me
[00:15:02] now. Let him come forward, let the owner come forward.
[00:15:06] Let the owner come forward and receive it. I am not preventing him from receiving it, that's why I am here.
[00:15:09] Let him go and work on it. My dear, my dear, please,
[00:15:13] please, who told you that if you saw a car parked in the street or an empty
[00:15:16] house, that it has no owner? Who assumed this? How
[00:15:20] are you assuming that this land has no owner?
[00:15:24] Because
[00:15:33] there is no one there at all. There are no people. Who will work on these
[00:15:36] lands? We will leave them.
[00:16:07] And expropriation. The issue is not about transferring ownership or expropriating land.
[00:16:11] The owners are not present now.
[00:16:17] the state can come directly to us, and this is their land, Munther. This
[00:16:21] is
[00:16:25] a misnomer, Professor
[00:16:27] Munther. This is the idea, I mean, the problem is also that even if we assume there is
[00:16:33] permissible, because of a political opinion, for example,
[00:16:36] to criminalize its owner.
[00:16:41] This is the specialized committee, and it is the decision-maker.
[00:16:45] Today, we have a committee called the Illegal Enrichment Committee, which is
[00:16:48] appointed by a presidential decree. It is the
[00:16:52] one concerned with these matters. So, if anyone has a problem from those people, they go
[00:16:55] and review it. We are only an executive body. We are an
[00:16:59] investment body.
[00:17:02] the lands. No, we have temporarily protected
[00:17:06] their ownership. Today, they attend,
[00:17:08] and they go and proceed. Okay, Professor Bassam,
[00:17:13] the professor. No, no, I just want to understand a question from the professor. Does the Illegal
[00:17:17] Enrichment Authority, announced by a presidential
[00:17:20] decree, send you an official letter sealed by the
[00:17:23] director of the Illegal Enrichment Authority to confiscate that land or
[00:17:27] temporarily retain it? Yes.
[00:17:31] Yes. Do you have this letter? Show it to us, if
[00:17:33] you please. I have this letter. Yes, it is available.
[00:17:38] And cases, I wish to see it, because you have not only violated the constitution, you have
[00:17:42] violated the words of His Excellency the President
[00:17:45] except by a judicial ruling, even a seizure
[00:17:49] for an hour or an acquisition must be by a law issued by
[00:17:52] the President of the Republic, a judicial authority. Do you think, for example, that the Illegal
[00:17:56] Enrichment Committee is not a judicial authority? No, it is definitely not a judicial authority. Can you mention the name of a
[00:17:59] judge in the Illegal Enrichment Committee?
[00:18:05] Illegal Enrichment Committee, and they will introduce themselves to you. No, Professor Bassam, Professor
[00:18:09] Munther, Professor Bassam is talking about legal procedures, and it is capable of
[00:18:13] issuing decisions, and it is appointed by a presidential decree
[00:18:16] from His Excellency the President. Okay? Yes, but
[00:18:19] Professor Bassam says it does not have the legal authority within its tasks. No,
[00:18:23] no, it does have authority. If it didn't have authority, His Excellency the President would have suspended
[00:18:26] its work. If it didn't have
[00:18:30] authority,
[00:18:34] on their work, okay, and their work is approved. Okay.
[00:18:40] What is happening now is with the approval of His Excellency the President. Exactly, my
[00:18:44] dear. The Illegal Enrichment Committee is an affiliated body appointed
[00:18:47] by a decision from His Excellency the President. Okay?
[00:18:50] I agree with you, I agree with you, and you are an entity. We mean,
[00:18:54] the time is up, Professor Munther, and Professor Bassam. Professor Munther, I will start with you.
[00:18:58] 30 seconds, half a minute, just to comment on the topic because the
[00:19:01] time is up.
[00:19:04] You operate, I mean, you say
[00:19:08] legal authority. We operate as an entity, we are an
[00:19:11] agricultural investment entity. We receive decisions from the Illegal
[00:19:17] sectors. We are only an investment entity. You have such-and-such
[00:19:20] land, you receive it by decision, and we work on it. And this is our job. The lands of
[00:19:23] the absent who have no problems with the state can attend at any
[00:19:27] moment. Their lands are available. They receive them and leave. Okay, Professor Bassam, a final comment
[00:19:30] from you in less than a minute.
[00:19:33] We are in a country where there is no law, no constitution, and no one respects the constitution.
[00:19:37] Unfortunately, according to the brother's words and on the ground, honestly,
[00:19:41] I mean, he spoke honestly, and I spoke with him honestly.
[00:19:45] I wanted to talk on a legal or constitutional basis, but unfortunately,
[00:19:48] on the ground, and according to the instructions, the professor is completely far from this topic.
[00:19:52] Bassam Salem, lawyer and legal consultant from Paris,
[00:19:55] and Engineer Munther Al-Zuhouri, Director of Ekfa Agricultural Investment Company,
[00:19:59] Hama Branch. Thank you, viewers, for watching, and see
[00:20:02] you soon.
[00:30:30] Welcome, viewers, to this news hour from Syria
[00:30:34] TV, and we begin with the most prominent
[00:30:36] headlines.
[00:30:39] The Security Council holds a session on Syria,
[00:30:42] and the United Nations says that more than five million
[00:30:46] people are still displaced within it and need support.
[00:30:50] The Israeli occupation army.
[00:30:54] جيش الاحتلال الاسرائي.