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08 Foreign News
Saturday, 25 February, 2012
‘Friends of Syria’ meet to push for relief access TUNIS
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ESTERN and Arab nations are to challenge Syria to allow in desperately needed humanitarian aid at a meeting Friday aimed at increasing pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to end his bloody crackdown. More than 60 nations are gathering in Tunisia for the first “Friends of Syria” conference, amid continuing violence in the flashpoint city of Homs and a growing global outcry over the deaths of thousands of civilians. But the conference of Arab and Western foreign ministers will be marked by the absence of Russia and China — highlighting the difficulty in building an international consensus on Syria. Both countries refused to attend and have frustrated efforts to rein in Assad’s regime, including by vetoing UN Security Council resolutions. An early draft of the meeting’s declaration said it could call for the Syrian government “to implement an
immediate ceasefire and to allow free and unimpeded access by the UN... and humanitarian agencies.” The UN is stepping up its efforts to deal with the crisis and on Thursday named its former leader Kofi Annan as a joint UN-Arab League envoy for Syria. “I look forward to having the full cooperation of all relevant parties and stakeholders in support of this united and determined effort... to help bring an end to the violence and human rights abuses, and promote a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis,” Annan said after his appointment. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday’s meeting was looking for “concrete progress on three fronts: providing humanitarian relief, increasing pressure on the regime, and preparing for a democratic transition.” “We hope to see new pledges of emergency assistance for Syrians caught in Assad’s stranglehold, and international coordination and diplomatic pressure on Damascus to allow it to get to those who need it most,” she told reporters in London. Bassma Kodmani, a spokes-
woman for main opposition group the Syrian National Council (SNC), repeated calls on Friday for the creation of three humanitarian corridors: one from Lebanon to assist Homs, one from Turkey to help Idlib and one from Jordan to help Deraa. “What is absolutely urgent for us in Tunis is to ask for humanitarian assistance,” she told France Inter radio, adding that the opposition hoped “Russia could put pressure on the Assad regime” to accept aid convoys. The draft declaration demanded that humanitarian groups be allowed in to Syria to assess the need for aid and “be permitted to deliver vital relief goods and services to civilians affected by violence.” It threatened increased sanctions, including travel bans, asset freezes, a stop to oil purchases and the closure of foreign embassies in Damascus and Syrian embassies in other capitals. The SNC has warned that military intervention might be the “only option” to end the crackdown, but Western and Arab nations have so far rejected the idea of a foreign mission similar to the operation
that helped topple the Libyan regime. The draft declaration also called for the Arab League to convene a meeting of the Syrian opposition and praised the SNC. But it did not appear to give the SNC exclusive recognition, calling it only “a legitimate representative of Syrians seeking peaceful democratic change.” Activists say more than 7,600 people, mostly civilians, have died since Assad’s hardline regime launched a crackdown to snuff out a revolt that began with peaceful protests in March 2011. Monitors said 86 people were killed across Syria Thursday, 61 of them civilians. And at least two civilians were killed Friday as Syrian forces for the 21st day shelled a rebel-held area of Homs, where US reporter Marie Colvin and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik were killed on Wednesday. Opposition supporters were expected to make a new show of force after Friday prayers. Efforts were being made to evacuate from Homs two wounded journalists — Edith Bouvier, a reporter for French daily Le Figaro, and Sunday Times photog-
rapher Paul Conroy. Britain said on Thursday Conroy was “on his way out” of the city, while Bouvier appeared in a video online asking to be evacuated quickly, saying she needed urgent medical attention. French ambassador to Syria Eric Chevallier returned to Damascus after being recalled to France in response to the crackdown, the embassy said Friday. It declined to comment on whether his return was related to the evacuation effort. UN investigators on Thursday submitted a list of Syrian officials suspected of possible crimes against humanity, saying they documented a widespread and systematic pattern of gross violations “in conditions of impunity.” Amnesty International demanded Friday that aid agencies be given immediate access to Homs and other protest cities. “The accounts we are hearing from Homs are increasingly dire, with people lacking the most basic amenities,” said the interim deputy director of Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, Ann Harrison.
Assad ‘not ready to resign’, says Russian Mp MOSCOW afp
Bashar al-Assad is not ready to resign and claims to feel strong support despite 11 months of deadly protests, a top Russian lawmaker who met the Syrian president in Damascus this week said Friday. “I met Assad and did not get the impression that this is a person who is ready to leave power tomorrow,” Alexei Pushkov, the head of the international affairs committee of the State Duma lower house, told reporters. “The protest movement exists, but it is not such that the president would feel everything crumbling around him — that everything is falling apart and he needs to resign,” Pushkov said. Assad’s ouster “is an absolutely artificial and far-fetched issue,” he said, adding that he talked to the Syrian strongman for more than an hour. This week’s four-day visit by Pushkov, a member of the ruling United Russia party and former television commentator, came after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov flew to Damascus for talks with Assad earlier in the month. Lavrov secured a pledge to halt violence and quickly hold a constitutional referendum, and idea dismissed
la paz: a physically-disabled woman on her wheelchair clashes with riot police in the centre of la paz on friday. hundreds of physically disabled people arrived in la paz after completing a protest march of some 1600 km (994 miles) over a hundred days to demand that Bolivia's government offer support in the form of 3000 bolivianos ($434) to each disabled person. ReUTeRS
US, N. Korea talks end with little progress BEIJING afp
A US diplomat said Friday some progress had been made in the first talks between the United States and North Korea since the death of Kim Jong-Il, but there were no breakthroughs. Glyn Davies, coordinator for US policy on North Korea, said he had a “better understanding” of North Korea’s position on the country’s controversial nuclear programme, but they had not achieved any “dramatic results” during the talks. “The talks were serious and substantive ... I think we made a little bit of progress,” Davies told reporters at the end of the two-day meeting in Beijing. “We have been able to illuminate the issues a bit better, gain a better understanding of their point of view, their rationale and their position.” The talks were seen as a chance for Washington to clarify what policies North Korea’s untested new leader Kim Jong-Un plans, and to try to work with Pyongyang to resume six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme. The United States has been exploring a resumption of the negotiations, which are chaired by China and also include Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the United States. Ana-
lysts say Pyongyang — which has said it wants to return to the six-party talks, albeit without any preconditions — may be eager to resume discussions with Washington to show the regime is operating as it was before Kim’s death. Davies said there was no “dramatic difference” in the way the North Korean delegation, led by veteran negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan, conducted themselves during the talks, which focused on denuclearisation, non-proliferation, nuclear enrichment, humanitarian aid and Japanese citizens abducted by the North. Davies said the fact the two sides were able to have “this very in-depth, wide-ranging exchange” represented progress. “What we have to do is evaluate it ... and then consult with our allies and partners in the six-party process,” he said. North Korea abandoned the six-nation talks in April 2009 because of what it described as US hostility, and conducted a nuclear test the following month, to international condemnation. This week’s talks between the North and the United States are the third since July. The two sides were scheduled to meet in December, but the plan was shelved after Kim’s death on December 17 and the subsequent transition of power to his son Kim Jong-Un. Davies said he had briefed his Chinese counterpart Wu
BeijinG: us special envoy on north Korea Glyn davies (l) speaks to the media after the second day of bilateral talks with north Korea in Beijing on friday. Afp Dawei on the talks, and would meet with officials in South Korea and Japan over the weekend before returning to Washington on Monday. China, North Korea’s
closest ally, has repeatedly urged a resumption of six-party talks. Washington and Pyongyang have not agreed on further meetings, Davies said.
Iraqis demonstrate for reforms in Baghdad BAGHDAD afp
Dozens of Iraqis demonstrated for reforms in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Friday, the eve of the first anniversary of mass protests in which 16 people were killed across the country. Security forces had a heavy presence in the square, with soldiers armed with wooden clubs, pistols and assault rifles surrounding the area where the demonstrators were gathered. Groups of policemen with Kalashnikov rifles were also deployed, as were various army and police vehicles mounted with machineguns. “The demonstration is to remind the government that the February Youth (protesters) and the youth of Tahrir Square still continue to protest as long as there are demands that are not realised,” said Muayid al-Tayyeb, who led chants at the protest. “A year has passed since the protests and the government has not made any effort to realise the demands of the protesters,” he said. The demonstrators’ requests include improvements in services such as electricity and fighting corruption, Tayyeb said. “But when the government faced these demands with repression, our request became new elections.” He said the demonstration began about 10:00 am (0700 GMT). It wound down around noon. On February 25 last year, 16 people died and more than 130 were wounded in clashes with police during demonstrations across Iraq. Two days later, Prime Minister Nuri alMaliki gave his cabinet 100 days to improve the delivery of services to Iraq’s people or face “changes,” but no one was ever fired.