Syria says ready to fight rebels 'for years'
[Al Ahram] Syria warned Tuesday it is ready to fight "for years" against rebels, as world powers worked on a new initiative to find regime officials suitable for peace talks with the opposition.
The UN children's agency, UNICEF, said meanwhile that an entire generation of children risked being lost in the spiralling conflict between forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
and the bad turbans.
As the bloodletting approached a third year without a solution in sight, La Belle France said it was working with Russia and the United States to draw up a list of regime officials with whom the opposition can negotiate.
"We worked together on an idea... of a list of Syrian officials who would be acceptable to Syria's opposition National Coalition," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the foreign affairs committee of the National Assembly.
Opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib has offered to talk to regime representatives without "blood on their hands", while his National Coalition has ruled out any solution that includes Assad and his top military command.
Fabius said La Belle France had discussed Khatib's "very brazen" offer "with the Russians and the Americans" and that there had been "exchanges to seek a political solution".
In Strasbourg, meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres told the European Parliament the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
should be empowered to act in Syria with UN backing since Western intervention could be perceived as "intervention".
Posted by: Fred 2013-03-13 |