AL, Turkish Stance against Syria Escalated

Local Editor

The head of the Arab League urged the organization to act decisively Wednesday to stem what he called “bloodshed in Syria.” The talks in the Moroccan capital is intended to discuss further measures against Syria which was suspended by the 22-member bloc last weekend after it failed to implement an Arab peace plan. These would include sanctions such as the withdrawal of ambassadors. Arab League secretary-general Nabil al-Arabi said he hoped that Arab moves to send observers to Syria would bear fruit within days. But he reiterated that no observers would be sent before a clear agreement is signed between the Arab League and Damascus. Syria agreed to receive 500 members of human rights groups, media representatives and military observers to its territory, which the pan-Arab said it would welcome them to see the situation on the ground and help implement the peace plan. Despite its suspension from the bloc, Syria had been invited to Wednesday's meeting but decided to boycott it. As Arab foreign ministers gathered in Morocco, Turkey also joined in the diplomatic assault on its neighbor, saying “it must pay dearly for its attempts to crush an uprising.” "The cost for the Syrian administration of not fulfilling the promises it made to the Arab League (to end violence) is its isolation in the Arab world as well," Ahmet Davutoglu told his Arab counterparts. "The Syrian administration should read the messages given by the Arab League, immediately put an end to the violence against its own people and open the way for an inevitable transformation process," he added. Turkey, once a close ally of Syria, has escalated its criticism of Assad's regime since the Syrian crisis began. "A future cannot be built on the blood of the innocent, otherwise history will remember those leaders as the ones who feed on blood," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday. Turkey has already announced a halt to joint oil exploration with Syria and has threatened to cut electricity exports there. For its part, the White House said it welcomed the "strong stance Turkey has taken." "Turkey's comments today further point to the fact that President Assad is isolated", President Obama's deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters. The United States also urged Arab leaders to step up pressure on Damascus. They should tell Assad "that he needs to allow for a democratic transition to take place and to end the violence against his own people," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. On Monday, Jordan's King Abdullah II urged Assad to step down, becoming the first Arab head of state to call for the Syrian president's resignation. This call coincided with the martyrdom of eight Syrian army soldiers in an assault carried out by armed gangs Wednesday morning at a military post in the town of Kfarzita, north-west the city of Hama, Syrian Observatory reported.

Syrian People Reject AL Decision, France Recalls Ambassador

Local Editor

On the 41st anniversary of the Correctionist Movement, huge masses flocked on Wednesday to the public squares at a number of major Syrian provinces, to express support to the Syrian independent and sovereign national decision, affirming loyalty to their homeland. Participants in the rallies stressed adherence to the national unity, importance of maintaining security and stability, and rejection of the Arab League's decision against Syria and the foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs. In the capital Damascus, youth groups turned the streets leading to the Squares of Umayyad and Saba' Bahrat into national platforms to express to the whole world that Syria is immune to conspiracies, stressing their absolute rejection of the AL decision. In the same context, masses of youth gathered outside the Arab League office in Damascus to stress the Syrians' rejection of the League's decisions and of any foreign interference in their country's internal affairs. Those marches coincide with that of the coastal province of Lattakia, where mass crowds from all the Syrian provinces streamed to the tomb of the late President Hafez al-Assad in al-Qerdaha city to stress their adherence to the firm principles set by the Correctionist Movement on its 41st anniversary. The participants took the oath of President Hafez al-Assad swearing to remain united, committed to the pledge and the late President's resistant approach, adhered to the Syrian army and to continue the course following President Bashar al-Assad. Similar marches occurred in Tartous, Aleppo and Hama, where participants called upon the Arabs not to follow instigation and conspiring calls against Syria, emphasizing that Syria, thanks to its aware people, will be immune to all conspiracies. Meanwhile, France has recalled its ambassador to Syria on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said. US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, abruptly withdrawn last month claiming the cause for security threats, is supposed to return to Syria in "days to weeks," Washington has lately said. The Arab League was meeting in Rabat on Wednesday, along with Turkey, to try to agree action to solve the situation in Syria.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian