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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Syria foreign minister promises democracy | |
| 2011-06-23 | |
BEIRUT: Syria’s foreign minister said Wednesday the Damascus government would soon present “an unprecedented example of democracy” in the troubled Middle East, an extraordinary promise in a country facing an uprising against an authoritarian system in place for decades.
“We will offer an example of democracy,” Muallem said, when asked about his vision for Syria in three months. “There will be social justice, equality before the law and accountability.” The statements by the longtime trusted Assad aide went beyond the vague promises of reform the president made in a Monday speech, and amounted to a rare official admission that Syria has ignored basic democratic principles. Muallem called for regime opponents to enter into political talks, and urged Syrian exiles to return, pledging that “even the harshest opponent” of the regime will not be arrested. The news conference appeared designed to present a picture of regime confidence at a time when Assad is coming under increased attack abroad and at home, where the protesters call for his ouster. The foreign minister said the international community is mired in the “scandals” of its military intervention in Libya and wouldn’t repeat the experience in Syria, adding that Arab countries “without exception” supported Damascus. The Arab League on Monday issued a statement of support for Syria and opposition to foreign intervention there. Muallem lashed out at the government’s critics, particularly Europe, which imposed sanctions on Assad and members of the leadership over its deadly crackdown on protesters. He said European Union sanctions targeted the livelihood of Syrian people and “that amounts to (an act) of war.” The opposition estimates more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed and 10,000 detained as Damascus unleashed military and other security forces to crush the protest movement, which sprang to life in March inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. The US also has imposed sanctions, but the European move was a personal blow to Assad, who studied in Britain and made a high priority of efforts to bring Syria back into the global mainstream. “We will forget that Europe is on the map and we will look east, south and toward every hand that is extended to us,” Muallem said. “The world is not just made up of Europe.” He criticized France, Syria’s former colonial ruler, whose President Nicolas Sarkozy has been seen as generally supportive of Assad in recent years, visiting Syria twice in 2008 and 2009. “France must stop practicing its colonialist policies as it is doing under the slogan of human rights,” Muallem said. He said Syria would freeze its membership in the EuroMed partnership, a loose program of cooperation between the European Union and the nations on its southern rim, including Syria, that was set up in the mid-1990s. Muallem also denied that Syrian allies Iran and Hezbollah are helping the regime put down unrest. The US has accused Iran of sending reinforcements and equipment to Syria. “There is Iranian and Hezbollah political support for Syria to transcend this crisis and support for the reforms announced by President Bashar Assad,” he said. “But there is absolutely no military support on the ground.” Of Turkey, whose leaders have called the Syrian crackdown “savagery,” Muallem said Damascus wants to preserve its relations with Ankara. “I hope that they will reconsider their position,” he said. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |