TURKEY: Syrian opposition urges President Assad to step down to avoid foreign military intervention

Record ID: 280062

  • Title: TURKEY: Syrian opposition urges President Assad to step down to avoid foreign military intervention
  • Date: 18th November 2011
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (NOVEMBER 17, 2011) (REUTERS) SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEMBER OF SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL FAROUQ TAYFOUR SAYING: "We wish to arrive at a solution without foreign interference, and we hold the Syrian regime accountable for its actions which could bring international interference. We hold it respo
  • Embargoed: 3rd December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAAXC8G8M7X6PTJ991K17S2H183
  • Story Text: A member of the Syrian National Council, Farouq Tayfour, urged on Thursday (November 17), for President Bashar Assad to immediately step down before foreign military intervention is inevitable.
    The leader of Syria's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammad Riad Shaqfa, added that he believed Syrian people would prefer a military operation by Turkey rather than western countries if it becomes necessary.
    "We wish to arrive at a solution without foreign interference, and we hold the Syrian regime accountable for its actions which could bring international interference. We hold it responsible for its repression of its people, and its continued killing of its people. This would be the reason behind any foreign interference and any negative developments in Syria'', said Farouq Tayfour, a member of the Syrian National Council.
    The remarks came as Turkey takes a leading role in galvanising international pressure against Damascus.
    Furious at Assad's failure to end an eight-month crackdown on dissent and implement democratic reforms, Turkey has sharply stepped up criticism of its one-time friend in recent days, threatening to cut power supplies and slap on sanctions, while banding with Arab states and Western allies to isolate Damascus.
    A decision by the normally cautious Arab League to suspend Syria has revived international efforts to halt the bloodshed and put non-Arab Turkey at the forefront of diplomatic action.
    French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, whose country is working with the Arab League on a new draft U.N. resolution against Damascus, was due in Turkey on Thursday for a two-day visit in which Syria will top the agenda.
    Turkey has taken sides on the Syrian conflict by hosting and meeting with the main Syrian opposition and has given refuge to defecting Syrian soldiers. But Ankara will tread carefully because of the high domestic and regional stakes involved.
    Ankara fears Syria might descend into a sectarian war that would upset its population, and that Damascus could foment Kurdish militant attacks in retaliation.
    With bilateral tensions rising, Turkish media has reported Turkey has prepared a contingency plan to create a buffer zone inside Syria in case the number of Syrian refugees increases sharply. But political and military officials say there is no such plan.
    A Turkish newspaper, Sabah, reported on Thursday that Syrian opposition representatives had proposed to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that Turkey establish a no fly-zone a few kilometers inside Syrian territory, and thereafter gradually expand it to cover the city of Aleppo.
    Sabah said Turkey told the Syrian opposition that three conditions had to be met. Firstly, the U.N. should declare a no-fly zone, the Arab League should take the initiative to support the process, and the United States and European Union should support and act as guarantors.
    Turkish officials denied there was any such plan being worked on from their side.
    And unlike the Arab League's call in March for a no-fly zone over Libya, which set the stage for a NATO action that helped topple Gaddafi, the Arab group's measures did not include a request for the use of force.
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