TURKEY: Syrian National Council dismiss April 10 ceasefire pledge as they sign a national agreement to resolve the problem of Kurdish recognition

Record ID: 280554

  • Title: TURKEY: Syrian National Council dismiss April 10 ceasefire pledge as they sign a national agreement to resolve the problem of Kurdish recognition
  • Date: 4th April 2012
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (APRIL 3, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL, AHMAD RAMADAN, SAMIR NASHAR AND ABDUL BASSET SIEDA HOLDING A NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEMBER OF SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL, AHMAD RAMADAN, SAYING: "Under this agreement Syrian National Council pledges for the constitutional recognition of Kurdish ident
  • Embargoed: 19th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA2BGIQ5W0W90IEG2V27BHA0C1Y
  • Story Text: The Syrian National Council pledged for constitutional recognition of Kurdish identity on Tuesday (April 3) under an agreement signed in a bid to meet the demands of Kurdish delegates who walked out from a reconciliation meeting last week.
    "Under this agreement Syrian National Council pledges for the constitutional recognition of Kurdish identity. The council reiterates that the Kurdish problem is a mainstay of the problems in the country and it pledges to recognise the national rights of the Kurdish people within the territorial unity and solidarity of Syria," said Ahmad Ramadan, a member of the council at a news conference after signing the agreement.
    Last week a meeting of Syrian opposition groups that aimed to show they can unite to form an alternative to President Bashar al-Assad was marred when a veteran dissident and Kurdish delegates walked out, saying their views were not being heard.
    Representatives of Syria's Kurds withdrew from the meeting saying the SNC had failed to explicitly address Kurdish hopes of having an autonomous federal region within a post-Assad Syria.
    Opposition disunity has fed fears that Syria could slide into sectarian and ethnic conflict, giving pause to governments which would otherwise welcome Assad ouster.
    Syrian opposition figures said they were not convinced embattled Bashar al-Assad would honour, who has failed to honour previous commitments, would keep his word to the international peace envoy Kofi Annan on a planned ceasefire deadline.
    "We are used to the bluffing of the Syrian regime. The Syrian regime is an expert in empty initiatives. So it's just another attempt to gain time. In the coming days, we will see that the Syrian regime will not commit to the commitment it has made to Kofi Annan," said council member Abdul Bassey Sieda.
    Assad has agreed to a ceasefire negotiated Kofi Annan from April 10, the latest effort to end a year of bloodshed stemming from an uprising against his rule.
    An advance team from the United Nations' peacekeeping department will arrive in Damascus in the next two days to work out how observers can monitor the truce, Annan's spokesman said in Geneva.
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