Thursday, December 8, 2011
Iraq seeks to convince Syria to sign Arab deal
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi is pictured on December 1 in Brussels. Iraq said it would try to convince neighbouring Syria to accept an Arab League deal to end unrest and head off sweeping economic sanctions, during a visit by the group's chief to Baghdad
Iraq said it would try to convince neighbouring Syria to accept an Arab League deal to end unrest and head off sweeping economic sanctions, during a visit by the group's chief to Baghdad on Thursday.
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Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi told journalists in the Iraqi capital that "the ball is in the Syrian court" but warned that if Damascus wanted to avoid sanctions, it would have to sign on to the initiative.
"Our conversation (with Iraq) ... was to explore whether the Iraqi government is willing to exert its influence with Syria," Arabi said at a joint news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.
"The Iraqi government told us that it will carry out contacts with the Syrian government to resolve this issue."
Zebari added: "We will exert efforts and discuss with the Syrian government how to remove all the obstacles facing this initiative."
Arabi declined to set a deadline for Syria to agree to the plan.
"The ball is in the Syrian court. They can come and sign at any time, perhaps 24 hours after that, there will be the observers there. It's up to them. They want to stop the economic sanctions, they sign."
Iraq has refused to enforce the sweeping sanctions against Damascus approved by the Arab League on November 27 over the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on protests.
Those measures included an immediate freeze on transactions with Damascus and its central bank and of Syrian regime assets in Arab countries.
But Iraq's close trade ties with Syria, from which it imports significant amounts of foodstuffs, pushed the Iraqi government to abstain from the Arab League vote on sanctions.
Zebari said Iraq's abstention from the vote on the Syrian sanctions was due to its position as a geographic neighbour, a major trading partner, and the fact that a large Iraqi community lives in Syria.
"This doesn't contradict... (Iraq) standing and speaking out, condemning bloodshed," he added. "We can help, we can play a useful role to support the Arab initiative."
Local human rights groups said more than 100 people have been killed in Syria since the weekend, and the UN estimates at least 4,000 have died since March when anti-regime protests erupted.
"There are accusations from both sides, and what is needed now ... is to inject a third party which is observers from all Arab countries... to try, by their presence, to stop or at least decrease greatly the violence," Arabi said.
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Why is this good for Iraq .. And what does Syria have to do with Iraq? .. related links .. *Iraqi PM Maliki : 615 Detained in anti-Baathist sweep ... *and .. must read ~ Iraqi Pro-Baathist-Exiles living in Syria ~ Plot the Fall of Maliki from Damascus, Syria ... December 1, 2011The European Union stresses the sanctions on Syria and final suspension of membership are ...
Beirut, Agreed European Union governments on Thursday to increase pressure on Syria through the addition of 11 entities and 12 individuals to the list of sanctions as well as other measures related to different sectors, with Syria replied to suspend its membership in the "Union for the Mediterranean" on the pretext that the European procedures constitute a "flagrant violation of national sovereignty.
The foreign ministers said the European Union in a statement that "punitive measures, the new linked sectors of energy, finance, banking and trade, including the inclusion of additional individuals and entities involved in violence or supporting the system directly," pointing out that the minister, "they added 12 people and 11 institutions and companies to the list to freeze and the prohibition of assets and banned provide financial support for trade and loans to the Syrian government, both at the bilateral level or through international financial institutions.
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And prohibit new measures according to the statement on the companies in the European Union, "dealing in government debt, Syrian, and prohibit Syrian banks to open branches in the countries of the European Union or to invest in European banks, also prohibits the export of equipment to the oil and gas industry Syrian including the refining and exploration, and prohibits companies in the European Union to invest in companies that establish new power plants in Syria. "
It also prohibits "sales of computer software or equipment that can be used to control the Internet or communications."
The European Union has imposed several rounds of sanctions on the government of President Bashar al-Assad since last May because of the violent suppression of the disturbances, including those sanctions ban the import of Syrian oil and a ban on new investments in the energy sector.
The Union's statement that he "will continue to press for strong action to the United Nations over Syria" and urged all members of the UN Security Council to "assume their responsibility to end violence in support of Syria and the Syrian people."
It is scheduled to announce a list of names soon, maybe tomorrow, Friday.
In contrast, Syria responded to declare suspension of its membership in the "Union for the Mediterranean."
A statement carried by the Syrian news agency SANA, said that "Syria suspends its membership in the" Union for the Mediterranean "in response to European procedures is unjustified taken against the Syrian people," she says.
The statement said that "the European Union has taken a series of measures constitute a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and blatant interference in the internal affairs without Syrian based on any objective approach."
It is said that the "Union for the Mediterranean" was established in 2008 at the initiative of France.
The European Union, announced on 2 August for the imposition of a series of new sanctions on the leaders of senior Syrian including the denial of visas and freezing their financial assets because of participation in the suppression of demonstrators in Syria, including the Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Ali Habib, head of military security in the city of Hama Mohamed Mufleh, and the Chief of the Internal Security Brigadier General Younis Tawfik, free of Syrian President Mohammad Makhlouf, known as Abu Rami, and associated with younger brother, Maher Assad, the Syrian president in the framework of the "militia Cbihh" loyal to the regime.
Syria has seen since the March 15 protest movement past the security forces, acting violently, and said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nations on Thursday December 1, the death toll in Syria of 4000 at least, describing the situation as like a civil war.
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2011-11-29 Saudi Arabia Urges Citizens To Leave Syria, Turkey Could Use Iraq As Trade Route
Regional pressure mounted against President Bashar Assad's regime on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia urged its citizens to leave Syria and Turkey said it could use Iraq as an alternative trade route. That would cut out Syria entirely as Damascus faces broad economic sanctions over its deadly crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising.Russia's foreign minister, however, gave the regime a boost, warning against imposing ultimatums on Assad's government.
Activists said at least 11 Syrians were killed by security forces in a series of raids and house searches on Tuesday, five in the tense Damascus suburb of Rankous, five in the central city of Homs and one in the town of Saraqeb in Idlib.
Syria has been a main transit route for Middle East trade, which Damascus hopes will help cushion the effects of tough new sanctions from the Arab League and Turkey. The Arab sanctions were expected to bite far more than existing sanctions from the U.S. and the European Union, which had far more limited trade with Damascus.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said the Arab sanctions amounted to "economic warfare" and warned Damascus could use its strategic location to inflict economic damage of its own.
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"Sanctions are a two-way street," Moallem said in a televised news conference Monday. "We don't want to threaten anyone, but we will defend the interests of our people."
But Turkey's transport minister said there are alternatives to Syria, although he gave no specifics about when such a move might be taken.
"We are planning to conduct transit transport through Iraq, by opening new (border) gates, if the situation with Syria worsens," Binali Yildirim told the state-run Anadolu Agency on Tuesday. He said Turkey would increase the number of border gates with Iraq in such an event.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking at a joint news conference with Luxembourg's foreign minister Tuesday, would not reveal what sanctions Turkey is contemplating implementing against Syria, but said they would never include cutting water or electricity supplies.
Responding to a question, he said the possibility of establishing a buffer zone inside Syria was not on the agenda, but did not completely rule out the possibility.
"Let's hope that the decisions by the Arab League and that the calls made on Syria find a response and that more bloodshed in Syria can be prevented," he said. "However, if the repression continues, Turkey is ready for all kinds of scenarios but this does not mean that we will use the military option."
Syria has seen the bloodiest crackdown against the Arab Spring's eruption of protests, with the U.N. reporting at least 3,500 people killed since March.
Deaths in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen have numbered in the hundreds. Libya's toll is unknown and likely higher than Syria's, but the conflict there differed because it descended early on into an outright civil war between two armed sides.
The U.N.'s top human rights body will hold an urgent meeting Friday to discuss the situation in Syria, Western diplomats in Geneva said. It will be the third special session of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council since the uprising against Assad started in March.
Diplomats told the Press on Tuesday that more than 20 of the council's 47 members have signed the call to hold the meeting. They spoke on condition of anonymity as an official announcement wasn't due until later Tuesday.
Assad is depending on strong support from Russia and China to withstand the sanctions and growing isolation.
Last month, Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the bloodshed in Syria, arguing that NATO misused a previous U.N. mandate authorizing use of force in Libya.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov angrily dismissed calls for an arms embargo, calling them "unfair," and echoing regime allegations that militant groups opposing the government have been armed from the outside.
"The most important thing now is to stop acting through ultimatums and try to use political means," said Lavrov.
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Thursday, December 8, 2011
