16.11, 20:00 The foreign ministers of the Arab League, consisting of 22 members, have confirmed the suspension of Syria from the group, blaming it for the violent suppression of anti-government rallies.
Arab world protests
Today: 07:09 Russian lawmaker and foreign policy architect Konstantin Kosachev thinks that Russia is “probably one of the very few, or maybe the only country, which maintains dialogue both with Assad and with the opposition.”
Syria unrest
15.11, 15:49 As violence continues unabated in this Arab Republic, members of the Syrian opposition are telling Russian diplomats they are against any foreign military intervention in the settlement of their country's conflict.
Syria unrest
14.11, 23:44 Syria is becoming increasingly isolated with its neighbors turning their backs on it. Some believe that the Arab League and especially the Gulf states are doing the bidding of the West by putting more pressure on Damascus.
Syria unrest
14.11, 17:02 The “illegitimate” decision to suspend Syria from the Arab League has received wide support from the EU and the US. Russia, however, has strongly opposed the measure, which is starting to look like another step on the road to a Libya-style scenario.
Arab world protests Syria unrestAs massive pro-Assad demonstrations continue across Syria, Damascus has called for an emergency meeting of Arab League heads of state in an apparent attempt to avert its suspension from the regional bloc.
Syria unrest
12.11, 17:48 The Arab League has voted to suspend Syria from all meetings until Damascus ends its bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters.
Syria unrest
08.11, 15:44 With images of NATO’s use of excessive force in Libya in the rear-view mirror, Russia is calling for the international community to support a non-violent Syrian settlement plan put forward by the League of Arab States (LAS).
Arab world protests //Published: 17 November, 2011, 10:37
Edited: 17 November, 2011, 22:50
To include this chart in your web page, paste the following HTML tag into your web page HTML: TAGS: Conflict, Military, Religion, Protest, Politics, Human rights, Terrorism, Cary Johnston, Paula Slier, Opposition, War, Syria
Syria’s president has until Saturday to stop the violent crackdown on protesters and allow a monitoring team into the country, demands the Arab League, which threatens to tighten the financial noose around the regime by slapping down heavy sanctions.
And while the drum-beat for international pressure against Bashar al-Assad gets louder, there are fears this may only make a bad situation worse.
On Thursday, governmental forces raided the restive Hama province, where Syrian Army defectors attacked an army checkpoint the previous day, protesters reported. The so-called “Free Syria Army” claims to have 25,000 members currently.
Earlier Assad’s supporters attacked several embassies in Damascus following country’s suspension by the Arab League. The risky situation prompted France to recall its ambassador from the country.
Turkey, which once supported Assad’s government, now says it plans to suspend joint oil exploration and is considering stopping electricity supplies to Syria.
As the international pressure on Syria rises, there are growing fears that it may follow the Libyan scenario.
London-based human rights group the Syrian Observatory wants both a buffer zone and a Libyan-style no-fly zone in Syria. The call, however, is so far unlikely to gain UN Security Council support. A previous draft resolution on Syria sponsored by Europe had been vetoed by Russia and China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it is greatly concerned over the situation and the ongoing violence. But ministerial spokesman Liu Weimin stressed that any possible Security Council action regarding Syria would have to help ease tensions and solve the crisis through political means.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on the Arab League to make it clear that it wants the violence stopped from both sides of the conflict.
“The violence in Syria comes not from the governmental structures only. There is an increasing amount of weaponry there smuggled from neighboring countries,” he said on Thursday. The Arab League’s members should “come up with a demand not only for the government, but also to the Syrian opposition to stop violence.”
He added that the League’s observers and the media, which Assad’s government agreed to allow into the country, will have to monitor both sides to see how this demand is met.
The pressure on Syria from the Arab League is being seen by some as little more than doing the West's bidding, says Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin.
“Many countries that now call the shots in the Arab League are closely connected with top Western powers. Qatar, which actually hosted all the latest Arab League sessions, is a country that fought in Libya; it makes no secret of the fact that its special operations forces were among the rebels,” he pointed out.
Likewise, former pentagon official Michael Maloof told RT that foreign attempts to shift the balance of power in the Syria had led to opposition to become increasingly militant.
“It’s quite clear that there’s quite an organized effort from outside to arm and to take advantage of what was popular discontent, and now, it has become much more of a militarized form of opposition from within,” he said.
Even in Israel – Syria’s arch enemy – some would rather Assad stayed in power.
“The Alawites have been doing us a favor, doing Israel a favor, of course this is not understood this way commonly, but they’ve essentially been going us a favor by keeping this population under control and if they go, it’s going to be an explosion,” said Professor John Myhill from the University of Haifa.
While the Arab League has stopped short of calling for Syrian President’s departure, critics say their stance is nothing short of hypocrisy.
“They have no democracy or at least, some of them, they don’t have constitution, and at the same time they are asking Syria to modify constitution and to develop the democracy that they are having. It is ironic and paradox [sic] at the same time,” Ali Hamdan points out.
What is more, Assad has shown he is willing to conduct reforms. But it is not clear the Arab League has the patience to listen.
And neither do Western leaders, who decided a long time ago Assad needs to go. Without the option to do it through the United Nations, the Arab League is their next best option.
Today: 07:09 Russian lawmaker and foreign policy architect Konstantin Kosachev thinks that Russia is “probably one of the very few, or maybe the only country, which maintains dialogue both with Assad and with the opposition.”
Syria unrest
Today: 11:43 Its hour has struck and the eurozone's second-most stable economy, the Netherlands, is beginning to feel the first hand effects of contagion, with the previous apathy among its taxpayers quickly giving way to animosity.
Eurozone crisis
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