: Sat Dec 17, 2011 18:25 pm (KSA) 15:25 pm (GMT) Arab League considers taking its Syria plan to the U.N. but rules out military action
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Demonstrators protesting against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad gather carry banners reading “Arab League killed us” during a march through the streets in Adlb. (Reuters) inShare.0By Al Arabiya with agencies
Doha
An Arab ministerial committee ruled out taking military action against Syria but proposed on Saturday to take an Arab League plan to end the crisis in Syria to the U.N. Security Council, Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said.
The bloc’s foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal, he said, a day after Russia proposed a surprise draft resolution to the council.
“We are not talking about military action but we will ask the Security Council to adopt the Arab initiative,” the Qatari premier said.
“As Russia has gone to the Security Council, a proposal will be presented in the (Arab ministers’) meeting on December 21 that the Arab League goes to the (U.N.) Security Council to present the Arab initiative,” he added.
Expressing frustration that Syria had not implemented the plan, six weeks after it was first agreed, al-Thani said the window for an Arab solution to the crisis was closing.
“If this matter is not solved in the weeks ahead, or couple of months, it will no longer be in Arab control,” he told journalists after an Arab ministerial committee meeting in Qatar.
“That is what we told the Syrians from the beginning.”
Any referral of the Arab plan to the United Nations would be likely to anger Damascus, which has accused unnamed Arab countries of trying to set the stage for foreign intervention.
Despite mounting international pressure on Syria to stop its bloody crackdown against protesters and dissent, the local coordination committees said that about 34 people were killed on Saturday across the country by the fire of the security forces.
Meanwhile, Syria has conditionally approved a plan to send monitors to oversee implementation of the Nov. 2 Arab League initiative, which calls on Assad to withdraw the army from urban areas, release political prisoners and hold talks with opponents.
But Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said Damascus was objecting to the League’s call for protection of Syrian civilians, saying members of the security forces were also being killed in the turmoil.
The Arab League suspended Syria and declared economic sanctions against Damascus over its failure to implement the initiative. The United States, European Union and neighboring Turkey have also imposed sanctions.
Long-time Syrian ally Russia took a step closer to the Western position on Thursday when it presented a surprise draft resolution at the United Nations which stepped up its criticism of the bloodshed in Syria.
Iraqi initiative
An Iraqi team held “positive” talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday in a bid to end the deadlock over an Arab League plan to end nine months of bloodshed, its leader told AFP.
“I am on my way to Cairo for a meeting with the Arab League after holding positive talks with President Assad,” National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh said.
The Iraqi initiative is aimed at opening a dialogue between the opposition and the Syrian government to reach a result that satisfies both sides, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in an interview with AFP on Thursday.
“America and Europe are afraid of the phase after Bashar al-Assad. That is why they understand the initiative” from Iraq, Maliki said.
The United Nations this week estimated that more than 5,000 people have been killed in the Syrian government’s crackdown on dissent, now in its 10th month.
Shiite-led Iraq has so far shied away from punitive measures against Assad’s Alawite Shiite regime, abstaining from both a vote to suspend Syria from the Arab League, and another to impose sanctions on Damascus.
There are fears among officials in Iraq, which has a substantial Sunni minority, that instability in neighboring Sunni-majority Syria could spill over the border.
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Demonstrators protesting against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad gather carry banners reading “Arab League killed us” during a march through the streets in Adlb. (Reuters) inShare.0By Al Arabiya with agencies
Doha
An Arab ministerial committee ruled out taking military action against Syria but proposed on Saturday to take an Arab League plan to end the crisis in Syria to the U.N. Security Council, Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said.
The bloc’s foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal, he said, a day after Russia proposed a surprise draft resolution to the council.
“We are not talking about military action but we will ask the Security Council to adopt the Arab initiative,” the Qatari premier said.
“As Russia has gone to the Security Council, a proposal will be presented in the (Arab ministers’) meeting on December 21 that the Arab League goes to the (U.N.) Security Council to present the Arab initiative,” he added.
Expressing frustration that Syria had not implemented the plan, six weeks after it was first agreed, al-Thani said the window for an Arab solution to the crisis was closing.
“If this matter is not solved in the weeks ahead, or couple of months, it will no longer be in Arab control,” he told journalists after an Arab ministerial committee meeting in Qatar.
“That is what we told the Syrians from the beginning.”
Any referral of the Arab plan to the United Nations would be likely to anger Damascus, which has accused unnamed Arab countries of trying to set the stage for foreign intervention.
Despite mounting international pressure on Syria to stop its bloody crackdown against protesters and dissent, the local coordination committees said that about 34 people were killed on Saturday across the country by the fire of the security forces.
Meanwhile, Syria has conditionally approved a plan to send monitors to oversee implementation of the Nov. 2 Arab League initiative, which calls on Assad to withdraw the army from urban areas, release political prisoners and hold talks with opponents.
But Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said Damascus was objecting to the League’s call for protection of Syrian civilians, saying members of the security forces were also being killed in the turmoil.
The Arab League suspended Syria and declared economic sanctions against Damascus over its failure to implement the initiative. The United States, European Union and neighboring Turkey have also imposed sanctions.
Long-time Syrian ally Russia took a step closer to the Western position on Thursday when it presented a surprise draft resolution at the United Nations which stepped up its criticism of the bloodshed in Syria.
Iraqi initiative
An Iraqi team held “positive” talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday in a bid to end the deadlock over an Arab League plan to end nine months of bloodshed, its leader told AFP.
“I am on my way to Cairo for a meeting with the Arab League after holding positive talks with President Assad,” National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh said.
The Iraqi initiative is aimed at opening a dialogue between the opposition and the Syrian government to reach a result that satisfies both sides, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in an interview with AFP on Thursday.
“America and Europe are afraid of the phase after Bashar al-Assad. That is why they understand the initiative” from Iraq, Maliki said.
The United Nations this week estimated that more than 5,000 people have been killed in the Syrian government’s crackdown on dissent, now in its 10th month.
Shiite-led Iraq has so far shied away from punitive measures against Assad’s Alawite Shiite regime, abstaining from both a vote to suspend Syria from the Arab League, and another to impose sanctions on Damascus.
There are fears among officials in Iraq, which has a substantial Sunni minority, that instability in neighboring Sunni-majority Syria could spill over the border.