Arabs seek Security Council help on Syria
Source: Agencies |
January 30, 2012, Monday
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ARAB League chief Nabil Elaraby headed to New York yesterday seeking to win support from the UN Security Council for a plan to end violence in Syria by asking President Bashar al-Assad to step aside.
Elaraby will brief the Security Council tomorrow but the Arab initiative, which is backed by Western states, is facing resistance from Russia and China, two of the five permanent members of the council with veto powers.
Elaraby, the league's secretary-general, will be joined in New York by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, whose country heads the league's committee charged with following Syrian developments. Qatar and fellow Gulf Arab state Saudi Arabia have been leading efforts to put pressure on Assad.
"We will hold several meetings with representatives from members of the Security Council to obtain the council's support and agreement to the Arab initiative," Elaraby told reporters at Cairo airport shortly before leaving for New York.
He also said Arab monitors, whose work was suspended on Saturday after an escalation of violence, had gathered in Damascus and would not leave the Syrian capital until their status was decided following the withdrawal of Gulf observers from the team.
Arab foreign ministers will meet on Sunday to discuss the Syria crisis, a senior Arab League official said. The ministers may discuss whether or not to permanently withdraw the mission from Syria, where thousands of people have been killed in a 10-month uprising against Assad's rule.
Syria, which said it was surprised by the decision to suspend the work of the monitors, described the move as a bid to influence the Security Council and increase pressure for foreign intervention.
The Arab plan initially included demands for Damascus to pull the military out of residential areas, free political prisoners and start dialogue with the opposition. But Arab ministers, frustrated at the lack of progress, agreed on January 22 an initiative that called for Assad to step aside.
Some Arab states remain wary of stepping up sanctions or putting other pressure on Syria.
Elaraby disclosed that some Arab countries, like Algeria, are also concerned that approaching the Security Council takes the Syrian issue out of Arab hands.
Elaraby will brief the Security Council tomorrow but the Arab initiative, which is backed by Western states, is facing resistance from Russia and China, two of the five permanent members of the council with veto powers.
Elaraby, the league's secretary-general, will be joined in New York by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, whose country heads the league's committee charged with following Syrian developments. Qatar and fellow Gulf Arab state Saudi Arabia have been leading efforts to put pressure on Assad.
"We will hold several meetings with representatives from members of the Security Council to obtain the council's support and agreement to the Arab initiative," Elaraby told reporters at Cairo airport shortly before leaving for New York.
He also said Arab monitors, whose work was suspended on Saturday after an escalation of violence, had gathered in Damascus and would not leave the Syrian capital until their status was decided following the withdrawal of Gulf observers from the team.
Arab foreign ministers will meet on Sunday to discuss the Syria crisis, a senior Arab League official said. The ministers may discuss whether or not to permanently withdraw the mission from Syria, where thousands of people have been killed in a 10-month uprising against Assad's rule.
Syria, which said it was surprised by the decision to suspend the work of the monitors, described the move as a bid to influence the Security Council and increase pressure for foreign intervention.
The Arab plan initially included demands for Damascus to pull the military out of residential areas, free political prisoners and start dialogue with the opposition. But Arab ministers, frustrated at the lack of progress, agreed on January 22 an initiative that called for Assad to step aside.
Some Arab states remain wary of stepping up sanctions or putting other pressure on Syria.
Elaraby disclosed that some Arab countries, like Algeria, are also concerned that approaching the Security Council takes the Syrian issue out of Arab hands.
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