USA: Members of Syrian opposition call for tougher United Nations stand against Assad regime.

Record ID: 276394

  • Title: USA: Members of Syrian opposition call for tougher United Nations stand against Assad regime.
  • Date: 17th July 2012
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JULY 17, 2012) (REUTERS) PRESS CONFERENCE BY MEMBERS OF THE SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. BASSMA KODMANI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL, SAYING: "The regime maintained the appalling level of violence and escalated its flagrant brutality against the population. We believe that the absence of enforcing mec
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5WQR5LUASG5FDY74LK7PQJV34
  • Story Text: A leading Syrian opposition group said Tuesday (July 17) that the United Nations needed to take tougher actions to end a deadly 16-month conflict.
    The Syrian National Council (SNC) said it has been meeting with Security Council ambassadors in New York, including the Russian ambassador, to press for the Security Council to enforce international envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan for Syria. The group says Annan's plan has been ineffectual.
    The head of the SNC, Bassma Kodmani, said
    "the regime maintained the appalling level of violence and escalated its flagrant brutality against the population. We believe that the absence of enforcing mechanisms and the lack of any stipulation of consequences for the regime's non-compliance has hereto rendered the Annan plan in its current form ineffective and has lead to a loss of trust in its viability by the Syrians".
    The SNC is asking the Security Council to pass a resolution, proposed by Britain, the United States, France, and Germany, to enforce Annan's peace plan under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. Chapter 7 allows the 15-member council to authorize actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention.
    Kodmani said "the situation under the Annan plan today is one that has not quelled any of the violence and the regime killing and has in fact lead to an escalation, that the message that another veto on a resolution at the U.N. Security Council will send the wrong message back both to the regime and the Syrian people."
    The Security Council is due to vote on extending the mandate of U.N. monitoring in Syria on Wednesday (July 17) but the vote could be delayed. The monitoring mission's mandate runs out on July 20. Russia has threatened to block the extension if it includes language involving sanctions.
    But on Tuesday the SNC pressed its case with the Russian ambassador.
    Kodamani said "our message is Russia has an important role to play but we cannot continue to hit a Russian wall and say there is nothing the international community can do".
    Assad's forces have killed more than 15,000 people since a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters began in March 2011, some Western leaders say. Damascus says rebels have killed several thousand of its security forces.
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