Brussels, 31/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The commander of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) announced, on Thursday 31 May, that he will wait until Friday 9.00am for the Annan peace plan to be applied, after which his army “will no longer be under any obligation linked to the plan” and its “duty will be to defend civilians”. After the barbarous massacre of women and children in Houla, the FSA states that there is now nothing to justify keeping to the ceasefire unilaterally as, as the whole world has seen, Assad has put the Annan plan behind him.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned against the risk of civil war, explaining that massacres like that in Houla may tip Syria into a disastrous civil war from which the country will never be able to raise itself. “We are not there to play the role of passive observer to unspeakable atrocities”, he added.
US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, underlined that, if there is no rapid initiative taken by the Security Council or application of the Annan plan, the members of the Council and members of the international community will have no other option but to “consider whether they are prepared to take action outside of the Annan plan and the authority of this Council”, although she did not specify what kind of action that would be. In her view, the most likely outcome of the conflict is an escalation of violence, and extension and intensification of the conflict.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was highly critical of the Russian attitude. “The Russians are telling me they don't want to see a civil war. I have been telling them their policy is going to help contribute to a civil war”, she explained, adding that, if there is no stop to the violence in Syria, this could lead to civil war or even to a war with foreign intervention because of Iran's support for the Syrian regime under Bashar al-Assad. Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, took the view that the position held by Russia and China shows that they are clinging to the past, when “history is on the side of democracy”.
In Brussels, Li Jinjun, Vice-Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, justified his country's position by saying that “non-intervention is a cornerstone of our foreign policy. We believe that under no circumstances should one intervene on sovereign territory. (…) The decision must be taken by the people of that country”. He also called on the Syrian government to answer its people's call for change, to have “peaceful consultation” with the opposition and “begin inclusive political dialogue”. He urged the parties concerned to stop the violence and to apply the Annan plan. (CG/transl.jl)