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Annan: Major powers back Syria transition plan leaving question of Assad open
Source: MSNBC
Updated 1:30 p.m. ET:
Major Western and Arab powers meeting in Geneva on Saturday adopted a watered-down version of special envoy Kofi Annan's Syria peace plan that leaves open whether President Bashar al-Assad can be part of the transition government.
"It is for the people of Syria to come to a political agreement." Annan said. "I will doubt that the Syrians who have fought so hard to have independence ... will select people with blood on their hands to lead them," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the deal in Geneva "paves the way" for a post-Assad unity government.
Russia had refused to back a provision that would call for Assad to step down.
A transitional governing body could include members of the current government and opposition and would be formed by mutual consent, Reuters reported. The pact calls for constitutional reform and free and fair elections, Reuters reported.
Read more: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/30/12494159-annan-major-powers-back-syria-transition-plan-leaving-question-of-assad-open?lite
World powers agree on steps for Syria
¬snip¬
The first step should be a recommitment to a ceasefire by both sides and implementation of a U.N. and Arab League-backed six-point plan without waiting for the actions of others, Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan said.
A key to the process will be a transitional government, which Annan said could include members of the current Syrian regime. The make-up of such a body would be decided by the Syrians, he said.
"We are determined to work together urgently and intensively, to bring an end to the violence and the human rights abuses and the launch of a Syrian-led political process leading to a transition that meets the legit aspiration of the Syrian people," Annan said.
The agreement also calls on the Syrian government to release detainees and allow journalists access to the country. The right to peaceful demonstrations must be respected, Annan said.
more: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/30/world/meast/syria-unrest/
Syria rebels: 'There is no peace and there is no plan'
Before Saturday's United Nations summit on Syria, some supporters of the country's opposition had their own plan – of sorts – to stop the unfolding catastrophe. It ignored the ongoing high-stakes diplomacy and any other talk of internationally brokered peace. All-out war, said activists, exiles and guerrillas alike, was now the only way to bring an end to the chaos in Syria.
Talking had done nothing but allow the Syrian regime to buy time and consolidate, the dissidents said. After almost 16 months' fighting in town squares and on battlefields, it was time to follow through with a momentum that many Syrians in southern Turkey and border areas controlled by rebel forces now feel is with them.
"There is no peace and there is no plan," said Ahmed Julak, 39, from a hospital bed in the southern Turkish city of Antakya, where he is recovering from a broken leg he sustained while smuggling ammunition into Syria.
"Nobody listened to Kofi Annan [whose plan to demand that both sides to step back from the brink has been stillborn since it was unveiled in April]. Not the regime, and not us. There is no dealing with these people, and that is the truth. And what is a transitional government?" he said, dismissing talk of an internationally backed administration to ease Syria free from autocracy and away from the spectre of war.
more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/30/syria-rebels-peace-plan?newsfeed=true
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Hezbollah on Syrian Quicksand
What effect will the Syrian Crisis have on Hezbollah?
Hezbollah are coming under increasing pressure in Lebanon to relinquish their military resources and commit to become a purely political organization. Against the backdrop of the unraveling crisis in Syria, the party has some important decisions to make
Syria’s strategic importance to the overall balance of power in the Middle East cannot be underestimated, not least because geographically it is the center of a nexus of competing interests and rivalries. In the space of a year diplomatic relations with Turkey have suffered a complete turnaround, Israel is monitoring the deteriorating situation with mounting anxiety, Iraq’s continuing battle against lawless insurgencies may well be set back, Iran fears the demise of its last ally of note in the region, and Lebanon—so familiar with the horrors of civil war—is now living next door to a powder keg that has the potential to devastate the country.
Within Lebanon, Hezbollah—who have sometimes acted as a Syrian/Iranian proxy for three decades—are now faced with a moment that could define their future as a political organization or potentially consign the group to political oblivion.
If their primary objective is to aid the economic, social and political development of Lebanon then it is perhaps time for the party to yield to political pressures, relinquish their weapons and help to take the country in to the twenty-first century. If not, Hezbollah may yet play an influential role in causing irreparable damage to the Middle East as we know it. Whatever happens, Hezbollah has proven itself to be a ruthless and pragmatic organization, capable of adapting to the shifting sands of the political arena. Should the time come when it serves their best interests to give up their weapons, they will not hesitate.
http://www.yalibnan.com/2012/06/29/hezbollah-on-syrian-quicksand/
What effect will the Syrian Crisis have on Hezbollah?
Hezbollah are coming under increasing pressure in Lebanon to relinquish their military resources and commit to become a purely political organization. Against the backdrop of the unraveling crisis in Syria, the party has some important decisions to make
Syria’s strategic importance to the overall balance of power in the Middle East cannot be underestimated, not least because geographically it is the center of a nexus of competing interests and rivalries. In the space of a year diplomatic relations with Turkey have suffered a complete turnaround, Israel is monitoring the deteriorating situation with mounting anxiety, Iraq’s continuing battle against lawless insurgencies may well be set back, Iran fears the demise of its last ally of note in the region, and Lebanon—so familiar with the horrors of civil war—is now living next door to a powder keg that has the potential to devastate the country.
Within Lebanon, Hezbollah—who have sometimes acted as a Syrian/Iranian proxy for three decades—are now faced with a moment that could define their future as a political organization or potentially consign the group to political oblivion.
If their primary objective is to aid the economic, social and political development of Lebanon then it is perhaps time for the party to yield to political pressures, relinquish their weapons and help to take the country in to the twenty-first century. If not, Hezbollah may yet play an influential role in causing irreparable damage to the Middle East as we know it. Whatever happens, Hezbollah has proven itself to be a ruthless and pragmatic organization, capable of adapting to the shifting sands of the political arena. Should the time come when it serves their best interests to give up their weapons, they will not hesitate.
http://www.yalibnan.com/2012/06/29/hezbollah-on-syrian-quicksand/
