Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 
Syrian Protests Continue, Regime Blasts Arab League Summit, Russia and China Against International Intervention

Editor's Note:

The Butcher of Syria, Bashar Al-Assad, continues killing Syrian protesters and innocent civilians. The Arab League Summit in Baghdad has not posed a firm stand in support of the Syrian people. Actually, the Summit sent the crisis to the UN. Thus, the regime's crackdown continues with scores of Syrians killed everyday. It seems that the Syrian revolution will continue as bloody as it can get until finishing the dictatorial regime by force.
 

Assad remarks give little hope of peace

By AGENCIES

Arab News, Mar 29, 2012 23:58 Updated: Mar 29, 2012 23:59

BAGHDAD:

Bashar Assad’s remarks on a UN-Arab plan yesterday gave little hope of peace as the Syrian tyrant called for an end to “terrorist acts” by foreign powers.

“It’s not surprising, but it’s discouraging and disappointing,” US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Arab leaders, meanwhile, urged a peaceful end to the bloodshed through “serious national dialogue,” at a landmark summit in the Iraqi capital yesterday.

They approved a resolution calling on the “Syrian government and all opposition factions to deal positively with the envoy (Kofi Annan) by starting serious national dialogue.”

Arab leaders said the plan should be implemented “immediately and completely.”

It said “the massacre committed by the Syrian forces against civilians in Baba Amro ... can be considered crimes (against) humanity.”

“The solution for the crisis is still in the hands of the Syrians as a government and opposition,” Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told Arab heads of state at the summit meeting.

Syria’s opposition groups continue to demand that Assad must go and have not agreed to peace talks.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon kept up pressure on Assad, saying he must turn his acceptance of the six-point peace plan into action, to shift his country off a “dangerous trajectory” with risks for the entire region.

Meanwhile, Toner said that Syrian forces have done nothing to comply with the plan in the three days since agreeing to it. “We’ve seen absolutely nothing on the ground that indicates that they’re adhering to its calls for Syrian artillery and heavy weaponry to go back to barracks and for a cease-fire to allow humanitarian assistance to be put in place,” Toner said.

In Istanbul, Syrian opposition representatives met to try to settle deep internal disputes before the arrival of Western foreign ministers for a “Friends of Syria” conference on Sunday to map out where the year-old uprising is heading.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki warned that arming the rival camps in Syria would lead to a “proxy war” fought by outside powers. “Based on our experience in Iraq, the option to arm either side of the conflict will lead to a regional and international proxy war in Syria,” Al-Maliki said.

He warned his fellow Arab leaders that Al-Qaeda may benefit from uprisings in the region by finding new areas in which to operate.

“The main thing we are afraid of is that Al-Qaeda will find new cracks (to operate) after it was defeated in Iraq, in Arab countries that are witnessing important developments,” Al-Maliki said at the summit.

“We warn that Al-Qaeda might ride the wave of the Arab uprisings,” he added. The emir of Kuwait called on Syria to listen to reason and cooperate with Annan.

Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah called on Damascus to “listen to the language of reason and wisdom and end all sorts of violence against its people,” saying that “prolonging the crisis in Syria will only make it more complicated.” He also urged the government of Assad to “cooperate effectively” with Annan’s efforts.

A large blast rocked central Baghdad near the Iranian Embassy on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital’s heavily-fortified Green Zone as the landmark summit opened. The blast was heard at around 1:40 p.m. and took place in the Salhiyeh neighborhood of central Baghdad. As smoke billowed into the sky, security forces members, military vehicles and firefighters were seen heading to the site of the blast.

The blast came despite strict security measures by the Iraqi government, which had 100,000 security forces members on alert in Baghdad, and effectively locked down the city, closing swathes of roads, shutting down air space and cutting mobile phone networks.

Clashes across Syria yesterday killed at least 23 people, including 14 civilians. Five civilians, including a woman and a child, died as regime forces stormed villages near the town of Maaret Al-Numan, in northwestern Idlib province, which has been under a relentless army assault since the start of the month, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Three soldiers also died. Six other civilians as well as two regime forces and an armed rebel died in fighting in central Homs province.

Three people died in nearby Hama province along with two soldiers who were killed when their vehicle came under attack by armed rebels, the Britain-based group added.

It said that an army colonel was assassinated by armed men in the northern city of Aleppo, where an officer was also killed on Wednesday.

The state news agency SANA said the two officers were killed by an “armed terrorist group” yesterday as they were heading to work.

“Four terrorists in a car killed officers Abdel Karim Raie and Fouad Shaaban as they were heading to work,” the agency said.

Clashes were also taking place near the town of Zabadani, in Damascus province.

A loud blast was reported in Harasta, also in Damascus province, and plumes of smoke could be seen rising near an army checkpoint, the Observatory said.

In the village of Dael, in southern Daraa province, fierce clashes were reported between regime forces and rebel troops. “Eight soldiers have been wounded and a military armored vehicle was hit,” the Observatory said.

Syria appreciates BRICS stand on sovereignty (IANS)

Khaleej Times, 30 March 2012 DAMASCUS -

Syria has appreciated the BRICS leaders’ stand at their New Delhi Summit Thursday respecting the sovereignty and independence of states.

President Bashar al-Assad Thursday expressed Syria’s appreciation of the BRICS leaders’ position that the crisis in the country could only be resolved by “a Syrian-led inclusive political process”, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

Syria also looked forward to more cooperation for creating a multi-polar world built on the values of democracy, Assad said in a letter sent to leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The BRICS New Delhi Declaration saw the leaders voicing deep concern at the situation in Syria and supporting “a Syrian-led inclusive political process”, an explanation India had used to justify its vote on the UN’s Syria resolution, and welcomed the joint efforts of the UN and the Arab League to resolve the crisis.

”Global interests would best be served by dealing with the crisis through peaceful means that encourage broad national dialogues that reflect the legitimate aspirations of all sections of Syrian society and respect Syrian independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the declaration said.

China and Russia, the two members of the UN Security Council, had voted against the US and Arab League-backed UN resolution on the ground that it amounted to a regime change. India had supported the resolution.

”Syria, as part of its strategy to put an end to the crisis, has responded to the task entrusted to Kofi Annan, as the United Nations Special Envoy to Syria, and will spare no effort to make this mission a success to contribute to restoring security and stability to the country,” Assad’s letter stated.

Assad hoped that Annan would comprehensively deal with various aspects of the crisis, including its international and regional ramifications.

He also stated the situation in Syria was “inflamed due to misleading media campaigns and continued assassinations and terrorist operations backed by forces providing weapons and financial support to the extremists”.

Following the Arab Spring, there have been widespread protests against the Assad regime for almost a year now, in which hundreds of people have been killed.

Syria blasts AL statement, promises efforts to make Annan's mission successful

DAMASCUS, March 30, 2010 (Xinhua) --

Syria on Thursday criticized the Arab League (AL) summit statement as "biased decisions," but promised to make all efforts to make Annan's mission a success.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a letter sent to leaders of the five-nation BRICS bloc that his country has accepted UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan's six-point proposal, and would exert all efforts to make his mission a success.

In the letter, Assad said Syria would soon start a national dialogue involving all spectra of the Syrian people, who are working to restore stability and security to the unrest-torn country.

He explained the steps taken by the Syrian government to introduce reforms in the country and restore security and stability.

Assad stressed that in order to make Annan's mission successful, there should be concentration on halting all kinds of support to terrorism in Syria, especially by countries whose officials have declared their financing and arming of the armed terrorist groups in Syria.

In return for his government's commitment to Annan's initiative, he noted, there should be guarantees from other parties to halt all terrorist attacks.

Earlier the week, Annan said Syria has accepted his six-point plan, which includes commitments to end the violence, allow humanitarian assistance and permit protests.

Meanwhile, Syria's official SANA news agency criticized a statement issued Thursday at the end of the AL summit in Baghdad, saying the summit has made "biased decisions inspired by agendas of the Gulf sheikhdoms."

SANA said the statement ignored the terrorism against the Syrian citizens.

"In its statement, the summit stressed concern and keenness on Syria's stability and unity and to avoid foreign military intervention, however it stressed and called on the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities toward Syria and that means an overt invitation for foreign intervention in Syria's affairs," said SANA.

Earlier in the day, the Arab leaders wrapped up the AL summit after approving the final statement, in which they called on the Syrian government to immediately stop violence, withdraw forces, and start talks with the opposition based on Annan's six-point peace plan, which should be implemented fully and immediately.

They pledged to adhere to a political solution and national dialogue away from foreign intervention, and called on the Syrian opposition to close ranks and prepare to start serious dialogue.

As a response to Assad's message, the five BRICS countries said in the Delhi Declaration that they called for dialogue to resolve the Syria crisis and "an immediate end to all violence and violations of human rights in that country."

On the same day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on the AL member states to join forces to promote the rapid cessation of bloodshed in Syria, find a solution that is acceptable to everyone and launch dialogue between the Syrian authorities and the opposition.

Also on Thursday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Tehran opposes any intervention by foreign forces in Syria's internal affairs, and supports reforms in Syria.

News Analysis: AL summit in Baghdad offers no new cure for Syrian crisis

by Wang Hongbin, Zhang Ning, Chen Cong

BAGHDAD, March 29, 2012 (Xinhua) --

The curtain of the 23rd Arab League (AL) summit was finally drawn in the fortress-like Iraqi capital of Baghdad Thursday evening with an unsurprising resolution calling on Syria leadership and the opposition to implement Kofi Annan's peace plan.

The outcome of the one-day meeting was much-predicted and offered no new cure for Syrian crisis, analysts here said.

UNANIMOUS SUPPORT FOR ANNAN

The pan-Arab meeting started after lunch time inside former leader Saddam Hussein's Republican Palace in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone and lasted till night. Kofi Annan, the special joint envoy of UN and AL, was the most frequently mentioned name in the lengthy speeches made by the conferees.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon opened the summit by pressing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to swiftly act on Annan's six-point proposals. The Syrian government was confirmed Tuesday to have written to Annan a letter accepting the latter's peace plan. Ban told the meeting the "key" now was implementation.

For the host's part, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated their support for Annan and insisted the crisis be solved politically without foreign intervention. "We strongly support the efforts of the Arab and UN envoy Kofi Annan to solve the crisis peacefully," Maliki, the only Shi'ite leader among the attendees said.

The year-long unrest in Syria has come to a crossroad where it will either slide into civil war or open national dialogue to herald an inclusive government. Harsh sanctions imposed by the West and mediation efforts by AL proved futile. Annan's proposals are widely seen as the last effort to a peaceful settlement.

The Baghdad Declaration, issued after the summit, calls for Syria's ruling Alawite family and its opposition to start serious dialogue. And a resolution approved in the summit asks Syria's opposition forces to unify their ranks and prepare to enter talks with the government. It insists both Assad and his opponents "deal positively with" Annan. The resolution, however, does not demand Assad's resignation or mention arming rebels.

CONSENSUS TO END VIOLENCE

All the dignitaries attending the summit agreed on the proposal that the Syrian government and the opposition forces must stop all violence and start dialogue.

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah called on Damascus to "listen to the language of reason and wisdom and end all sorts of violence against its people," saying that "prolonging the crisis in Syria will only make it more complicated."

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman reiterated their opposition to military intervention and urged Assad regime to end violence.

Analysts said the resolution approved in the summit was based on Annan's six-point proposals that call for ceasefire and peace talks. Sabah El-Sheikh, professor of political science with the University of Baghdad, told Xinhua that the summit without surprise offered no new cure for the Syrian crisis and the consensus the leaders reached was limited.

El-Sheikh said some countries like Iraq had made concessions to adopt a harsher tone to Syria, using words like "power transfer" and "free election," in part under the pressure of Sunni-dominated Arab countries. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in a news conference before the summit that despite not calling for Assad to step down Iraq "could no longer remain neutral." He said Iraq must "walk a thin line," alluding to its Sunni neighbors and Shi'ite Iran.

Iraq has been wary of a potential civil war in Syria which could spill over the border and escalate its domestic sectarian clashes. The Shi'ite-led government also fears Sunnis should steer power in Syria, it may embolden Iraq's Sunni communities to have a comeback.

DIVISIONS REMAIN

Sunni gulf countries particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been openly calling for arming the opposition or even military intervention to topple the Assad leadership. In this move, they hope, Syria can be cut off from Shi'ite Iran's leverage and reintegrate into the Sunni Arab community.

Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar's kings stayed away from the summit in Baghdad. Saudi kingdom sent its non-resident ambassador to Iraq and Qatar was represented by an even lower-level delegate. In fact the only top leader from Gulf countries who attended the summit was Kuwait's Emir, whose visit is historic in that it was the first of its kind since Saddam invaded his south neighbor more than 20 years ago.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani said in an interview with the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV that he would have wanted the level of representation to be higher "but we will sit with them in the future and talk." He did not elaborate.

Only nine leaders of Arab League's 22 member states turned up in the summit, namely Sudan, Somalia, Comoros, Djibouti, Lebanon, Palestinians, Tunisia, Kuwait and Libya.

Baghdad professor El-Sheikh said the low turnout highlighted deep divisions among the Arab League. Sunni gulf monarchies have been long wary of Iraq's nascent Shi'ite government who enjoys close ties with Tehran and moves to sideline Sunnis in Iraq. The absence of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE in the summit made the Baghdad Declaration and the Syria resolution lose credit and fall short of a real consensus.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Syria regards Arab summit decisions as "biased"

DAMASCUS, March 29, 2012 (Xinhua) --

Syria's official SANA news agency launched criticism over the statement issued Thursday at the end of Arab League (AL) summit in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, saying the summit has issued "biased decisions inspired by agendas of the Gulf sheikhdoms."

In a commentary issued late Thursday, SANA said the statement ignored the terrorism practiced against the Syrian citizens by armed groups that are being supported financially and medialy by Qatar and Saudi.

"The summit has ignored the terrorist attacks, the assassinations and sabotaging acts committed by armed groups against civilians, private and public properties," SANA said.

"In its statement, the summit stressed concern and keenness on Syria's stability and unity and to avoid foreign military intervention, however it stressed and called on the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities toward Syria and that means an overt invitation for foreign intervention in Syria's affairs," said SANA.

Earlier in the day, the Arab leaders wrapped up the AL summit in Baghdad after approving the final statement and a document named Baghdad declaration.

The final statement of the summit included the call from Arab leaders on "the Syrian government to immediately stop violence, murder, and to protect civilians and to ensure the freedom of peaceful protests."

They also called on the "Syrian forces to withdraw from the cities and villages, and to safeguard Syria's stability, and reject any military intervention.

The leaders called for providing full support to the mission of the UN envoy Kofi Annan.

"The Arab leaders condemned violations of human rights and considered the massacre of Baba Amr (in Homs in central Syria) by the Syrian security and army forces a crime against humanity that entails bringing the Syrian officials to justice."

They called on the Syrian opposition to close ranks and prepare to start serious dialogue that would lead to democracy, the statement said.

They (Arab leaders) stressed their full support for the aspirations and the legitimate demands of the Syrian people to freedom and democracy and to ensure their right to draw their own future, through peaceful transfer of power.

They condemned the acts of violence and adhere to a political solution and national dialogue away from foreign intervention in the Syrian crisis in order to preserve the unity of Syria.

They called for talks between the Syrian government and the opposition based on Annan's six-point peace plan, which should be implemented fully and immediately.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stressed Thursday that his government would exert all efforts to make Annan's mission a success to restore security and stability to Syria.

Assad made the remarks in a message sent Thursday to leaders of the five-nation BRICS bloc, in which he expressed hope that Annan would deal inclusively with all the elements of the Syrian crisis, regionally and internationally, according to SANA.

Assad said that in order to make Annan's mission successful, there should be concentration on halting all kinds of support to terrorism in Syria, especially by countries whose officials have declared their financing and arming of the armed terrorist groups in Syria, referring to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which have explicitly announced their will to arm and support the rebels in Syria.

The Syrian government accused Takfiri terrorists backed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia of being behind the unrest in Syria. It said more than 2,500 army and security personnel have been killed during the year-long crisis. However, the United Nations said Tuesday the number of people killed since the unrest began in March last year has exceeded 9,000.

Editor: Mu Xuequan