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Friends of Syrian Conference in Tunis Endorses National Council as Legitimate Representative of Syrian People

"Friends of Syria" meet in Tunis, keeps out Syrian gov't

TUNIS, Feb. 24, 2012 (Xinhua) --

A group known as the Friends of Syria started its first conference in Tunis on Friday, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Syria to make way for humanitarian aids to flow into the conflicts-torn country.

Delegates from 60 countries and organizations, including the United States, European and Arab nations, and the Syrian opposition were invited to the conference hosted by Tunisia. However, the conference shut its door to the Syrian government.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki made the opening address, saying that Tunis opposed solving the Syrian crisis through external interference and endorsed a plan to send Arab peacekeeping forces to Syria to stop violence and protect the civilians.

Marzouki also suggested that a "Yemen-model" should be adopted to help Syria to start its democratic transition, meaning that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down and hand over power to his deputy, making way for a transitional process that will help end the bloody confrontation between the government and opposition.

Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi said at the opening that the AL would respect Syria's sovereignty, and refuse any form of foreign intervention so as to prevent a civil war.

The AL would also meet the aspirations of the Syrian people towards freedom and political reform, Arabi said.

The conference then carried on behind closed doors after the opening session.

At the meeting, the group reached consensus on avoiding a militarization of the conflict in Syria and moving instead towards a political solution by recognizing the opposition Syrian National Council as the "legitimate representative" for the Syrian people.

The group also agreed to impose more sanctions against the Syrian government and reduce diplomatic interactions with Damascus.

France said the European Union (EU) would freeze assets of Syria's national bank in EU member countries from Monday.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed to toughen U.S. sanctions against Syria.

Hillary also announced at the conference that the United States was providing 10 million U.S. dollars to "quickly scale up humanitarian efforts, including support for refugees" in Syria.

She warned that the Assad regime would pay a "heavy cost" for "ignoring the will of the international community and violating the human rights of your people."

Russia and China, who vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at forcing Assad to step down, refused to attend the conference.

China contended that the function and purpose of the conference was ambiguous, while Russia said that it was unfair to keep out the Syrian government.

As the conference began on Friday, supporters of the Syrian government clashed with police in front of the hotel where the conference was held.

Shouting anti-America and anti-Qatar slogans, demonstrators denounced the expulsion of Syrian diplomats and the ongoing meeting. They termed the gathering "a plot against Syria perpetrated on the Tunisian soil."

Some pro-Syrian political parties in Tunis called the meeting "Enemies of Syria" Conference as the host had only invited the opposition parties to attend.

Since the unrest broke out in Syria last March, the number of casualties in the conflict has been rising steadily amid unrelenting clashed and fights between government forces and opposition fighters.

According to latest reports, six members of a family were murdered by unidentified gunmen in central Homs province on Thursday and another eight law-enforcement troops were killed in clashes with armed groups in several parts of Syria.

The United Nations recently put the death toll in the Syrian unrest at 6,000, while the Syrian government says more than 2,000 army and security personnel have been killed during the 11-months turmoil.

The Syrian government blamed the months-long bloodshed in its country on armed groups backed by foreign powers.

Blaming the bloodshed entirely on the Syrian government, Western powers and some Arab countries have been demanding that Assad relinquish power, a move some suspect amounting to forcing a regime change in Syria.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Thursday appointed Kofi Annan, former UN chief, as a joint UN-AL envoy on the Syrian crisis to broker a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Tunis Conference endorses Syrian National Council as " legitimate representative" of Syrian people

TUNIS, Feb. 24, 2012 (Xinhua) --

Participants from 60 countries and regions gathering at the Friends of Syria Conference in Tunisia's capital Tunis on Friday endorsed the Syrian National Council (SNC) as the "legitimate representative" of the Syrian people, the Arab League (AL) Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi said.

In spite of the divisions revealed, a large consensus has been reached on avoiding a militarization of the conflict, moving instead towards a political solution, as advocated by the host country Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki.

One of the main decisions adopted by the conference was to call on the UN to call for an immediate ceasefire in order to enable humanitarian aid to enter the country.

Other decisions include applying more sanctions on the Syrian regime, reducing diplomatic ties and adding pressure on the Syrian government.

It was also agreed to set up an Arab peacekeeping force to ensure stability during Syria's democratic transition.

Efforts to open up corridors of humanitarian aid for civilians will also be stepped up, Arabi said.

As the conference began on Friday, some 200 pro-Syrian protestors waving Tunisian and Syrian flags tried to force their way into the hotel where the conference was held. They were stopped by the police from entering the hotel.

Syrian president "can still save his country": Hillary Clinton

TUNIS, Feb. 24, 2012 (Xinhua) --

In a statement delivered at a press conference following the Friends of Syria Conference in Tunis on Friday evening, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can still "choose to save his country and his people from falling into ruins."

Clinton admitted that the conference witnessed divergences, but a consensus also emerged among delegates to open up humanitarian corridors for civilians in Syria.

She did not openly broach on Saudi Arabia's decision to leave the conference in protest of the conference's "inaction."

The Gulf countries, including Qatar, favor a military solution to the conflict in Syria, calling for arming the Syrian rebels or sending in Arab forces to fight against Syrian government forces.

Clinton ruled out any military action against the Syrian regime, saying that the conference had agreed to step up pressure on the Syrian government, as well as imposing further sanctions on the country to put an end to the bloodshed.

The U.S. Secretary of State was confident that the Syrian regime would collapse from within as a result of a "military coup, " noting that over the past year military leaders have stepped in to remove unpopular leaders in the region, as happened in Tunisia and Egypt.

In the next days, various groups making up the Syrian opposition "will get together and make their voices heard," Clinton added.

Representatives from some 70 countries took part in the meeting which was organized by the Arab League.