Annan: Take Syria Response to 'Another Level'
June 07, 2012
by Margaret Besheer, Scott Stearns
UNITED NATIONS -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan led increased diplomatic pressure on Syria Thursday following reports of another massacre that killed dozens of Syrians.
A somber Annan told the U.N. General Assembly that despite the Syrian government’s acceptance of his cease-fire plan in April and the deployment of 300 unarmed U.N. observers to Syria, the plan is not being implemented, and the crisis is escalating.
Annan said the international community must take its Syria response "to another level."
“The violence is getting worse," he said. "The abuses are continuing. The country is becoming more polarized and more radicalized. And Syria’s immediate neighbors are increasingly worried about the threat of spillover.”
Thousands of Syrians have died in attacks and clashes since the cease-fire was put in place, and the presence of hundreds of U.N. observers has not been able to stem the violence.
The Obama administration again called for regime change in Syria.
Speaking Thursday in Istanbul after reports that 78 people were killed in Syria in a Wednesday massacre, Clinton said that Syrian President Bashar al- Assad has "doubled down on his brutality and duplicity," and that the time has come for the international community to plan for a post-Assad Syria.
"We have to unite the international community behind a plan that is achievable and keeps faith with those inside Syria who are protesting and demonstrating, suffering and dying for their universal human rights," she said.
Annan plan failing
Clinton also said it was important to give Annan's peace plan "the last support" the international community can "muster," so that others in the Security Council can come to the "frame of mind" to see that action beyond the plan is needed.
Bob Moog, the chair of the Political Science Department at North Carolina State University, says that expectations are low for what the U.N. can do to help the Syrian situation.
"I think many people in the world, rightly or wrongly, look to the U.S. as the final arbiter in this," he said. "And if the U.N. doesn't act, then there's going to be expectations from some quarters that the U.S. should act in a unilateral, or if not unilateral, than in a multilateral matter, but outside the confines of the U.N."
Annan is to brief the U.N. Security Council later Thursday.
Speaking to the General Assembly, he said both Syria's government and armed opposition forces must cease hostilities, but the first responsibility lies with the government. He said that shelling of cities has intensified recently, and government-backed militias appear to be operating with “free rein” and “appalling consequences.”
Annan did note that a small number of the thousands of arbitrarily detained persons have been released and agreement has been reached between the U.N. and Syrian government on humanitarian assistance.
“But the hour demands much more," he said. "And President Assad has not indicated a change of course in his recent address to the National Assembly.”
Annan warned that if things do not change, the future would likely be one of “brutal repression, massacres, sectarian violence and even all-out civil war.”
His message was reinforced by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who cautioned that the longer the conflict continues and neither side engages in dialogue, the more difficult eventual peace and reconciliation will be.
Massacre outcry
The secretary-general also condemned the reported mass killing of dozens of civilians, including women and children, in the village of Mazraat al-Qubeir in Hama province Wednesday, as “shocking and sickening.” If confirmed, this will be the second such massacre of civilians in as many weeks.
“A village apparently surrounded by Syrian forces," he said. "The bodies of innocent civilians lying there….they were shot….some allegedly burned or slashed with knives. We condemn this unspeakable barbarity and renew our determination to bring those responsible to account.”
Ban said U.N. observers trying to reach the site to verify the reports were shot at with small arms. Annan’s spokesman told VOA that none of the monitors was injured, but their vehicles were hit with bullets.
Syria’s ambassador, Bashar Ja’afari, told the U.N. General Assembly Thursday his government is prepared to offer everything it can so Kofi Annan’s mission can succeed. He said the “doors of Syria are open” to those who want real national dialogue and true reform.
He added that Damascus would welcome a commission of inquiry from the U.N. Human Rights Council to look into reports of massacres, but said any commission must be made up of neutral states.
Russian stance
Russia and China, which have blocked strong action against Damascus in the U.N. Security Council, both expressed continued opposition to any foreign military intervention or any attempt to forcibly promote regime change. Russia’s ambassador also said Moscow would like to see an international conference convened soon on the Syrian situation.
Clinton and Annan are working to get Russia and China on board with tougher U.N. action against President Assad. Moscow and Beijing have repeatedly vetoed such moves.
The secretary of state told reporters in Istanbul that part of convincing Russia and China of the need to move forward with a political transition is accepting the failure of the Annan cease-fire plan.
"In order to bring others into a frame of mind to take action in the Security Council, there has to be a final recognition that it is not working," she said.
In the past week, Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have discussed the political transition in Yemen as a possible model for Syria. Clinton says then-Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ultimately gave up power because the international pressure, isolation, and sanctions were just too much.
"After clashes and deaths and threats of civil war, he left power," she said. "There is now a new president, and there seems to be some consolidation of social stability and security going on in Yemen. It is too soon to make predictions, but the transition occurred."
The foreign ministers with whom Clinton met in Istanbul are a subset of the so-called Friends of Syria who are helping supply Assad opponents while trying to coordinate humanitarian assistance.
Russia's Lavrov says that group's support for what he calls "radical demands" means it cannot deal honestly with the conflict. He vowed on Thursday there would be no U.N. Security Council mandate for outside intervention in Syria, indicating Moscow would use its veto to block any military action.
Lavrov wants a broader international meeting on the crisis to include the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Iran.
Clinton Thursday again said she sees no constructive role for Iran because it is "stage-managing the Assad regime's assault on its people."
VOA's Carla Babb in Washington and wire services contributed to this report.
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