FRANCE: France says Syrian ambassador told to leave following the recent killings of civilians in the Syrian city of Houla

Record ID: 280908

  • Title: FRANCE: France says Syrian ambassador told to leave following the recent killings of civilians in the Syrian city of Houla
  • Date: 30th May 2012
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MAY 29, 2012) (REUTERS) FRENCH FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY SPOKESMAN BERNARD VALERO TAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRENCH FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY SPOKESMAN BERNARD VALERO, SAYING: "We have taken this decision to declare 'persona non grata' the Syrian ambassador in Paris. She was asked to be here at the ministry of Foreign affairs this morning by the
  • Embargoed: 14th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAB8KTM07DOY0XC4TKAQEOBTSZB
  • Story Text: Several Western governments expelled Syrian diplomats from their capitals on Tuesday (May 29) in a coordinated action against President Bashar al-Assad's government spurred by revulsion over the killing of more than 100 civilians in a Syrian town.
    French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called Assad a murderer.
    "We have taken this decision to declare 'persona non grata' the Syrian ambassador in Paris because we want to protest, because we want denounce, because we want to condemn the unacceptable situation in Syria, so this person has nothing more to do here with us," said Fabius' spokesman Bernard Valero.
    Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Spain announced the expulsions after consultations with each other on what they called unacceptable levels of violence.
    The action marked a new phase in the international effort to halt the repression of a 14-month-old uprising against Assad and to force him to relinquish power.
    The immediate catalyst was Friday's massacre in Houla, including women and children, although the international community is increasingly frustrated at the failure of a U.N.-brokered peace plan to end the bloodshed in Syria.
    Syrian officials denied any army role in the massacre, one of the worst single incidents in the conflict.
    British Foreign Minister William Hague said the expulsions aimed to tell Assad and his ruling elite that time was running out for them to comply with the peace plan.
    Some governments told the Syrian diplomats to leave immediately, others gave them up to seven days to pack their bags.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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