The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is set to expel Syria from its congregation in an expression of the pan-Islamic body's opposition to the Assad regime's failure to end the bloodshed in his country. The decision is being described as one of the key outcomes of the two-day Islamic solidarity summit beginning here Tuesday.| And about as effective as a sternly-worded letter... |
Syria's expulsion from the OIC will mark President Bashar Assad's total isolation in the Muslim world. The 22-member Arab League expelled Syria in November last year during its emergency session in Cairo.
The preparatory meeting, chaired by Muhammad bin Ahmed Tayeb, director general of the Saudi Foreign Ministry's office in Makkah Province, lasted nearly 12 hours. It included Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia and its permanent representative to the OIC.
Syrian officials were not invited to the meeting. This led the Iranian envoys to raise objections. "The Syrians are still part of the OIC, and they therefore should have been invited to the preparatory meeting," one of the diplomats quoted the Iranians as saying. However, there were few backers of this Iranian view.
| Good. Now expel Iran... |
"Iran has refused to see the writing on the wall and continues to support a regime that has lost the moral ground to continue in power," said an Arab diplomat. "This was a good opportunity for Iran to echo the sentiment of the majority of the Muslim world."
Some nations, notably Kazakhstan, Iraq and Pakistan, suggested that efforts should not be given up to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria.
There were divergent opinions among the member countries on the issue of the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. One section called for a strong condemnation and rapid reaction, while others including Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Bangladesh,
| That is, the ones closest to the situation... |
Mali was not supposed to be on the agenda, but almost all African member states vociferously raised the issue of the unprecedented political crisis in the landlocked West African country. The decision was consequently made to include it in the deliberations. The meeting recommended that the territorial integrity of the country be respected by all parties and that those who are flying the flag of rebellion against the central government should be stopped and condemned.