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| Arabia |
| Arab League gives go ahead to arm Syria rebels |
| 2013-03-07 |
| rab media outlets are playing up the Arab League’s official green light to member countries to supply weapons and other tactical support to the Free Syria Army, as it bids to oust the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. “Arab League allows those who wish to arm the Free Syrian Army” reads the leading headline today in the Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat. Saudi Arabia has been funding the Syrian rebels for many months now. The announcement, which comes after a meeting of foreign ministers of Arab League countries held in Cairo, also calls for a member of the Syrian opposition to officially take over the Syrian seat at the Arab League summit held in Doha later this month. The Arab League statement stresses that “the opposition coalition is the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. . . and the importance of continuing efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis. Emphasis is placed on the right of each state, according to its own willingness, to provide all means of defense, including military, to support the steadfastness of the Syrian people and the Free Syria Army.” As expected, the Syrian government unequivocally rejected the Arab League’s move. According to the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat, “the Syrian Arab Republic emphasizes its firm rejection of the Arab League’s policies or other international efforts in seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria… The Arab League has chosen to be biased in favor of Arab parties that support foreign military intervention. This hinders any solution based on national dialogue and encourages the opposition and terrorist groups to continue fueling the crisis.” Two of Syria’s neighboring countries, Iraq and Lebanon, have issued statements that lend support to the official Syrian position. Both countries are facing political crises of their own at home and are concerned about the Syrian civil war spilling over into their territory. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has stated publicly his fears that sectarian bloodshed in Syria would lead to a major Al-Qaeda presence there and inspire a similar catastrophe in Iraq. The Qatar-based media channel Al-Jazeera notes that Lebanon’s government officially distanced itself from Syria’s chaos yesterday. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati emphasized his country’s neutrality on the issue of the Syria. Mikati has also urged the Lebanese people to refrain from taking sides or doing anything “that might endanger the security of their country or put its stability at risk.” Adding more fuel to the fire against the Syrian government, former Assad insider Firas Tlass, a childhood friend of the president, military chief, prominent business tycoon and the son of a former Syrian defense minister who has since defected to the rebels, spills details of what he claims are Assad’s secret ties with Israel to Dubai-based media channel Al-Arabiya. |
| Posted by:tipper |