Libyan youths stand on rubble of a house burying a destroyed car in Tripoli. Photograph: Mohamed Messara/EPA
Syria's president Bashar al-Assad is looking increasingly isolated today after what is widely-seen as defiant but poorly-judged speech. He offered some concessions but his description of protesters as "saboteurs" sparked spontaneous demonstrations at home and condemnation abroad.
Some of the sharpest criticism can be heard in countries neighbouring Syria. You would expect that in Israel, but not necessarily in Turkey and Lebanon.
An editorial in Lebanon's Daily Star said:
Reforms were promised, but in a way so devoid of specificity as to make such pledges sound meaningless. The world has heard this before, two months ago, in fact.
The level of trust in Assad has fallen so low that it is now virtually mandatory to question the authenticity of his desire to make good on reform oaths.
Turkish politicians and officials were unimpressed, according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet.
Diplomats said many of the reforms Assad promised were in line with what Ankara had already suggested to Damascus, but added that Assad's accusation that opposition groups were plotting with foreign powers, as well as the vagueness of his reform plan, were negative.
"Assad will have to work with these groups, therefore his description of the opposition is not right," a diplomatic source speaking on condition of anonymity told the H�rriyet Daily News on Monday. "This is not a statement that might build a climate of confidence between rival groups"...
Meanwhile, President Abdullah G�l's special advisor Er?at H�rm�zl�, has caused controversy after speaking to Dubai-based news channel al-Arabiya, saying, "Al-Assad has less than a week to start implementing long-promised political reforms demanded by Syrian protesters before foreign intervention begins."
Zvi Bar'el, writing in the Israeli daily Harretz, said there was some rare self criticism and realism in the speech, but it won't be enough.
This is the most serious and perhaps most critical crisis in four decades that the Assad family's reign has been entrenched in ? and much more than a fatherly speech will be needed to put a stop to it.
Much of Assad's speech could easily have been made by Ben Ali, Mubarak or Gaddafi, writes the Guardian's diplomatic editor Julian Borger.
And writing in the FT, Roula Khalaf is pessimistic about Syria's immediate future.
In the Arab world, one scenario that has often been mooted ? though it would seem improbable ? is that Mr Assad could get rid of those closest to him and seek a compromise solution with the protest movement.
Turkey, a frustrated ally that has taken in thousands of Syrian refugees, is believed to be pressing for a series of reforms that would isolate family members responsible for security and corruption and at least draw some of the protesters into a negotiated deal.
Most opposition activists, however, say the time for Mr Assad to lead a political reform process has passed ? any moves would be the beginnings of a transition away from him, a prospect that he will resist at all cost.
If the confrontation continues and Alawite officers stick with the ruling family, the unrest could become "polarised along confessional and ethnic lines, and lead to a drawn-out civil war and the collapse of the state", says Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre.
Syria's state news agencies Sana has published a translated full text of Assad's speech. Its hardline nature is illustrated in a Wordle visualisation.
The words 'state', 'security', 'law' and 'order' feature prominently.
Here's a roundup of other news in the region:
The former Tunisian president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife have been sentenced to 35 years in jail after being found guilty of theft in absentia by a Tunisian court. Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, were accused of theft and unlawful possession of large sums of foreign currency, jewellery, archaeological artefacts, drugs and weapons.
?�Nato has admitted launching a missile strike against a compound that Libyan officials claim killed at least 15 people, including three children. The alliance said the four buildings in a rural area west of Tripoli were being used as an important command and control centre for attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's forces, and were a legitimate military target under the mandate of the UN resolution.
? Libyan rebel leader, Mahmoud Jibril, will visit Beijing today. The talks with Chinese officials are likely to revolve around China's role as a mediator to end the crisis and Beijing's concerns over its economic interests in the war-torn country, China.org reports.
? If the Libya campaign continues beyond the summer it will threaten future RAF missions, the head of the Air Force's combat operations has warned, according to the Daily Telegraph. In a briefing paper delivered to senior politicians Air Chief Marshal Sir Simon Bryant said: "Should Operation Ellamy (Libya) endure past defence planning assumptions the future contingent capability is likely to be eroded."
Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak has cancer, according to his defence lawyer. "Mubarak has cancer and this was included in the last medical report," said lawyer Farid el-Deeb.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/21/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live
bbc world news today languages bbc world news uk bbc world news video breaking world news headlines britain\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\u0027s news of the world newspaper
No comments:
Post a Comment