IRAq: Head of opposition Syrian National Council welcomes U.N. general assembly resolution on Syria

Record ID: 276416

  • Title: IRAq: Head of opposition Syrian National Council welcomes U.N. general assembly resolution on Syria
  • Date: 4th August 2012
  • Summary: ARBIL, IRAQ (AUGUST 3, 2012) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY * HEAD OF OPPOSITION SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL ABDULBASET SIEDA WALKING TO PODIUM PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF OPPOSITION SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL, ABDULBASET SIEDA, SAYING: "After we found out the doors of U.N. Security Council were closed we decided to find resolutions away from
  • Embargoed: 19th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3LWQSLYW5QVBXFLZ0ZLC1RQXB
  • Story Text: The head of the opposition Syrian National Council welcomes vote in the U.N. general assembly, says efforts still underway to end Assad regime.
    The head of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) Abdulbaset Sieda welcomed on Friday (August 3) a U.N. general assembly resolution calling for President Bashar al-Assad to resign and for sanctions to be imposed. Speaking to reporters in Iraq's northern province of Arbil he said efforts are continuing to put an end to Assad's regime.

    "After we found out the doors of U.N. Security Council were closed we decided to find resolutions away from the Security Council. So we believe that this resolution by the U.N. general assembly comes within efforts that we seek. There will be a new move by the Friends of Syria group and the Arab League, this move depends on a draft resolution adopted by the Arab ministerial meeting in Doha. Eventually, all these efforts are concentrated on putting an end to the regime and achieving the goals of the Syrian revolution,'' said Mr Sieda.
    The special session of the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Friday (August 3) approved the Saudi-drafted resolution, which expressed "grave concern" at the escalation of violence in Syria and condemned the Security Council for its inaction.
    As expected, Syria's staunch ally Russia was among the 12 countries which opposed the resolution in the assembly, where no country has a veto but all decisions are non-binding. Others that voted against it included China, Iran, North Korea, Belarus and Cuba. Western diplomats said the vote highlighted the isolation of Assad's supporters, Russia and China.
    Kofi Annan said on Thursday he was stepping down as joint representative for the Arab League and United Nations on Syria. His six point peace plan was centered around an April ceasefire agreement between President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebel fighters, as a first step towards political dialogue. The ceasefire never took hold and thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed since it was implemented.
    Mr Sieda was frank in his assessment of Annan's peace plan, saying that while they were committed to it, its failure was only a matter of time.

    "The first observation was that the initiative was belated, and they (U.N. observers) were not able to carry out the first item of the initiative - to cease fire. The number of observers was a limited, there were 300 observers for twenty-three million people living on 180,000 square kilometres while more than 3000 observers were sent to Kosovo. The number of observers, who were delayed to arrive Syria, was about 30 to 40 during the first month. All these points show that the initiative was not serious, we lost about 3000 lives under this initiative,'' he said.
    Mr Sieda also urged Iraq's central government to offer more support for Syrians oppressed by Assad's regime.

    "In terms of the situation on the Iraq-Syria border, actually we welcome such movements on the border at a time and we expect a positive role from Iraq to boost and help Syrians that are suffering under dictatorship as Iraqis suffered before,'' he said.
    The possible fall of Syria's Assad worries Iraqi Shi'ite leaders who fear that a hardline Sunni government could come to power instead, emboldening Sunni militants in Iraq. Baghdad claims says that seasoned al Qaeda fighters are already crossing the border into Syria to liaise and conduct attacks on Assad's government.
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