UP President Barack Obama’s unequivocal statement that Syria cannot be stable as long as President Bashar Al Assad is in power should send a powerful message to all those who have been plotting a continuation in power for Assad. Obama has spoke for all Syrians and most of the Arab countries who want Assad to leave to bring peace to war-torn Syria. The statement also comes amid multiple attempts at various places to bring peace to the country. Talks are in progress with stake-holders as well as outside parties who think have a stake. But the interests of the participants have become so entangled, intractable and intransigent that every step forward is marked by two steps backward.
Writing in The Guardian, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Syrians must be allowed to determine their own fate. What he meant was that President Bashar Al Assad must be allowed to continue. But Syrians want Assad’s resignation, and this was the primary objective of the uprising which in its tortuous course has become complex and complicated with the entry of foreign forces, like Iran and Hezbollah in support of their ally Assad. “The Syrian people do not need guardians. The age of mandates and protectorates is long gone. It is utterly absurd that those who have denied their own population the most rudimentary tenets of democracy, such as a constitution and elections, are now self-declared champions of democracy in Syria,” writes Zarif. In fact these words apply to Iran than any other country he might have in mind. Tehran has been brazenly supporting the Syrian regime against the aspirations of the Syrian people. Syrians don’t want outside interference and a solution imposed from outside. If a genuine referendum is held in the country and the uprising is allowed to take its natural course without extraneous support, Assad will have to leave peremptorily.
The international community needs to try harder to bring peace to Syria. In a welcome development, the five United Nations Security Council veto power countries have agreed the text of a draft resolution to endorse an international roadmap for the Syria peace process and the 15-member body is expected to adopt it. The draft backs a nationwide ceasefire and asks the UN to convene representatives of the Syrian government and opposition for formal negotiations with a target start date of January.
It’s a step in the right direction, and Syrians and the world want this UN initiative to succeed. But it’s not easy. The UN needs to move ahead with unwavering determination and work within deadlines. But as Obama said, the removal of Assad must come as part of a solution.
UP President Barack Obama’s unequivocal statement that Syria cannot be stable as long as President Bashar Al Assad is in power should send a powerful message to all those who have been plotting a continuation in power for Assad. Obama has spoke for all Syrians and most of the Arab countries who want Assad to leave to bring peace to war-torn Syria. The statement also comes amid multiple attempts at various places to bring peace to the country. Talks are in progress with stake-holders as well as outside parties who think have a stake. But the interests of the participants have become so entangled, intractable and intransigent that every step forward is marked by two steps backward.
Writing in The Guardian, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Syrians must be allowed to determine their own fate. What he meant was that President Bashar Al Assad must be allowed to continue. But Syrians want Assad’s resignation, and this was the primary objective of the uprising which in its tortuous course has become complex and complicated with the entry of foreign forces, like Iran and Hezbollah in support of their ally Assad. “The Syrian people do not need guardians. The age of mandates and protectorates is long gone. It is utterly absurd that those who have denied their own population the most rudimentary tenets of democracy, such as a constitution and elections, are now self-declared champions of democracy in Syria,” writes Zarif. In fact these words apply to Iran than any other country he might have in mind. Tehran has been brazenly supporting the Syrian regime against the aspirations of the Syrian people. Syrians don’t want outside interference and a solution imposed from outside. If a genuine referendum is held in the country and the uprising is allowed to take its natural course without extraneous support, Assad will have to leave peremptorily.
The international community needs to try harder to bring peace to Syria. In a welcome development, the five United Nations Security Council veto power countries have agreed the text of a draft resolution to endorse an international roadmap for the Syria peace process and the 15-member body is expected to adopt it. The draft backs a nationwide ceasefire and asks the UN to convene representatives of the Syrian government and opposition for formal negotiations with a target start date of January.
It’s a step in the right direction, and Syrians and the world want this UN initiative to succeed. But it’s not easy. The UN needs to move ahead with unwavering determination and work within deadlines. But as Obama said, the removal of Assad must come as part of a solution.
