FRANCE: The prime minister of Qatar, the former head of the Syrian National Council and a top opposition member welcome defection of top Syrian General

Record ID: 281010

  • Title: FRANCE: The prime minister of Qatar, the former head of the Syrian National Council and a top opposition member welcome defection of top Syrian General
  • Date: 6th July 2012
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JULY 6, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS INTERIORS OF FRIENDS OF SYRIA CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QATAR PRIME MINISTER SHEIKH HAMAD BIN JASSEM BIN JABER AL THANI SAYING: "I don't want to pre-empt things or specify what or what level the intervention will be but it has to be for the good of the Syrian people and it has to end things quickly and we have said this
  • Embargoed: 21st July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAGVE939DXZPSZIZCL5J0EEMNJ
  • Story Text: The Prime Minister of Qatar, the former head of the Syrian National Council and a top opposition member all welcomed news on Friday (June 6) of the defection of top Syrian general Manaf Tlas.
    "We are not surprised by this and we expect more of it and this is the result of what happened in Tunis and Libya and Yemen and now Syria ...this did not happen 200 years ago, this happened yesterday and the Syrian leadership should know that this is the result and the end will be like this," Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Haber told reporters.
    Bourhan Ghalioun, the former head of the Syrian National Council said he hoped more defections would come.
    "It's not the defection of a general that will change anything but it's a good sign. And it will probably give an idea to other generals. And that's what we hope," he said.
    Kamal Labwani, a member of the Syrian opposition, said Tlas was no hero.
    "He defected for two reasons: first, he was humiliated, second for sectarian reason. And this is dangerous. So his defection and burnishing it and focusing on it like this is bad because it divides the army along sectarian lines. This is not correct...he did not defect because of his political differences and we never knew that he opposed the regime until he defected," he said.
    Earlier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Tlas was en route to Paris.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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