US Embassy in Iraq, 23 Jan 2012 – Syrian religious leaders meet with Arab League monitors. The U.S. praised the League for offering a “transition mechanism to a better, more democratic Syria.”
Washington – State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the Arab League’s proposal for a political transition in Syria was “quite remarkable,” and she praised the organization’s continued leadership in trying to bring an end to the Syrian government’s violent suppression of its political opponents.
According to press reports, after its meeting on January 22 the organization called upon Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to transfer power to his deputy and for a unity government to be set up within two months to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held under Arab and international supervision.
Nuland told reporters in Washington January 23 that the Arab League has joined the United States, the European Union and other countries around the world “in saying that it is now time for Assad to step aside and allow a peaceful political transition to go forward.” She said the group had made “a concrete proposal, in line with the leadership that they have been showing on the Syria issue for many weeks now, about how this could happen.”
The Arab League proposal offered a way toward “a transition mechanism to a better, more democratic Syria,” but “regrettably, Assad rejected it almost before the ink was dry,” she said.
The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 Syrian civilians have been killed at the hands of the Assad regime’s security forces since peaceful protests against Assad’s rule began in March 2011. On November 2, Syria accepted an Arab League peace plan, but the league’s January 22 report “made absolutely clear” that the Assad regime had not fully implemented the provisions it agreed to, Nuland said.
“We still have violence perpetrated by the regime. The Arab League report calls the situation in Syria a state of severe stagnation and oppression and injustice. It also talks about the fact that they were unable to ascertain the precise number of detainees, let alone secure their release; that the media is still restricted; and that the regime tried to control the [Arab League] monitoring mission,” she said.
Nuland said the monitoring mission, put in place to determine if Syria was respecting the November 2 peace plan, has been “a mixed picture,” but the United States sees no harm in the Arab League’s decision to extend the mission for an additional month.
In a number of instances, the presence of the monitors has encouraged Syrians to leave their homes and freely express their views, both in demonstrations and in interviews with the monitors. Nuland said Syrians were able to help the monitors assemble a list of political prisoners.
But the regime’s violence against the people resumed once monitors moved on to another location. Nuland noted the Arab League’s concern that the withdrawal of the monitors from the country would increase “the danger and the harm to peaceful protesters,” and she said the league is discussing ways its monitors can be in more places. It is also seeking international training and support to increase the effectiveness of the mission.
“We are prepared to support them in their decision to do this for another month, but we would obviously make clear that the job of the monitors is to bear witness to what is happening,” Nuland said.
“It is not the job of the monitors to stop the violence. It is the job of the Assad regime to stop the violence. It’s the job of the Assad regime to pull back its tanks, to allow journalists in, to release people from prison,” she said. “If another month can give … the opposition more support, more space to work and to get its views across, and to try to create this national dialogue for change, we don’t see any harm in that,” she said.
Nuland welcomed the Arab League’s decision to become more active in consulting with the United Nations Security Council on Syria, and she anticipated that the league would be making a report to the council.
The United States wants to see a Security Council resolution that “firmly reflects the conclusions of the Arab League report and reflects the various pieces of unfinished business that the Arab League has highlighted here,” she said.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman is in Moscow for talks with Russian officials in an effort to move forward on a U.N. measure, she said, adding that Feltman may also be discussing reports that the Russian government has decided to sell 36 Yak-130 combat jets to Syria.
“Obviously, if it’s accurate, it would be quite concerning,” Nuland said of the reported sale. “Our firm belief is that any country that is still trading in weapons and armaments with Syria really needs to think twice because they are on the wrong side of history, and those weapons can be used against innocents and have been.”