U.N. and U.S. Take a Sharper Tone on Syrian Government
By STEVEN ERLANGER and RICK GLADSTONE
Published: April 19, 2012
PARIS — International pressure for a harsher line on Syria
escalated Thursday, with the president of France calling the Syrian
leader a liar, the American secretary of state moving a step closer to
endorsing use of military force, and the head of the United Nations
accusing the Syrian government of failing to carry out nearly every
element of a peace plan that went into effect a week ago.
Georges Gobet/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations secretary-general,
said in a letter to the Security Council that Syria had failed to
implement almost every aspect of a peace plan.
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The tougher tone in the diplomatic push for ways to resolve the
13-month-old Syrian conflict came as new reports of violence in Homs and
other hot spots of antigovernment sentiment reinforced a view that the
peace plan was in danger of disintegrating. Although an agreement was
reached with the Syrian government authorizing the deployment of at
least 250 United Nations cease-fire monitors there, differences remained
on their freedom of movement, nationalities and total number.
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France set the tone as his government
convened a meeting of diplomats from nations in the Friends of Syria
coalition seeking to aid the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. Sarkozy compared Mr. Assad to the late Libyan leader, Col. Muammar
el-Qaddafi. “Bashar al-Assad is lying in a shameful way; he wants to
wipe Homs from the map like Qaddafi wanted to wipe Benghazi from the
map,” Mr. Sarkozy said on Europe 1 radio. “The solution is the creation
of humanitarian corridors so an opposition can exist in Syria.”
Foreign Minister Alain Juppé of France said the Friends of Syria group
was discussing contingency plans in case a United Nations cease-fire and
peace plan, negotiated by Kofi Annan, the special representative of the
United Nations and Arab League, continues to unravel.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for “stronger measures”
to support the cease-fire, including a Chapter 7 Security Council
Resolution, which would allow the use of military force. Russia, Mr.
Assad’s strongest defender, has said it will veto any effort to
authorize a military intervention in Syria. Mrs. Clinton acknowledged
such a resolution was likely to be vetoed by Russia, but said that even
her Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, had recognized “that we are
not in a static situation but a deteriorating one.”
“I think we have to do more to take tougher actions against the Assad
regime,” Mrs. Clinton said. “We need to start moving very vigorously in
the Security Council for a Chapter 7 sanctions resolution, including
travel, financial sanctions, an arms embargo and the pressure that that
will give us on the regime to push for compliance with Kofi Annan’s
six-point plan.”
American officials said that Mrs. Clinton was not talking about sending
in troops. But one official said, “We’re at a turning point — either the
observers are able to get in and really do their job, or we’ll have to
increase the pressure on Syria.” Mrs. Clinton was observed conferring
closely with the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, who has
called for the arming of the Syrian opposition. Asked about his
position, he was quoted by Reuters as saying, “As long as the
international community has not managed to put an end to this
hemorrhage, this bloodbath, then at the very least they should help the
Syrians to defend themselves.”
Mrs. Clinton said the United States was increasing its nonmilitary aid.
Other countries may be doing more with military training. But “we are
expanding our communications, logistics, and other support for the
Syrian opposition,” she said. And in cooperation with Turkey, she said
the United States was considering ways to coordinate the collection and
distribution of assistance to opposition groups inside Syria.
She also hinted at a possible NATO role in the conflict because of
Syrian shelling last week across the border into Turkey, a NATO member,
where thousands of Syrian refugees have sought sanctuary. She said
Turkey had discussed such an option at a NATO ministerial meeting in
Brussels this week. Under an article in the NATO treaty, an attack on
one member can be construed to be an attack on all.
In a statement, the Friends of Syria group called Mr. Annan’s plan
fragile but “a last hope” for a peaceful resolution. If it failed, they
said, other options would have to be considered.
At the United Nations on Thursday, Ban Ki-moon,
the secretary general, said an initial lull in violence between Syrian
forces and antigovernment fighters had all but disappeared. “The past
few days, in particular, have brought reports of renewed and escalating
violence, including the shelling of civilian areas, grave abuses by
government forces and attacks by armed groups,” he said. He was
particularly critical of the Syrian government over the failure to
address the needs of civilians upended by the crisis.
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“Approximately 230,000 people, if not more, have been displaced,” he
said. “An estimated one million people are in need. Despite assurances
from the government, there has been no meaningful progress on the
ground. This is unacceptable.”
For the moment, pressure on Syria is diplomatic and financial, with
embargos on oil purchases and dealings with crucial officials and banks.
But the rhetorical pressure here has not meant an agreement on military
intervention in Syria, as was the case in Libya.
In Washington, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, told Congress that Syria was a difficult problem and that
“spillover into neighboring countries is an increasing concern.” Defense
Secretary Leon E. Panetta, also testifying, warned against American
military involvement, saying that Washington would need “a clear legal
basis” and regional support to act.
The foreign ministers of both Russia and China were invited to the Paris
meeting but refused to come, Mr. Juppé said. “I regret that Russia
continues to lock itself into a vision that isolates it more and more,
not just from the Arab world but also from the international community,”
he said. But the position of Russia has “evolved,” he said, and Moscow
favors the observer mission.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry called Thursday’s meeting
“one-sided” for failing to include representatives from Damascus.
In Syria, an advance team of United Nations monitors, who were mobbed by
antigovernment activists in a Damascus suburb on Wednesday, had a
similar experience on Thursday when they visited the southern province
around Dara’a, the birthplace of the uprising.
A video posted on YouTube
from the village of Khirbet al-Ghazaleh showed a beefy, bearded man at
the head of a large crowd, with one of his arms swung across the
shoulders of the Moroccan colonel who is the head of the advance team.
With his other arm the man was pumping the air and leading the crowd in
raucous antigovernment chants, including, “The people want your fall, O
Bashar!” and “God praise the Free Syrian Army!” the umbrella
organization of militias battling the government.
COPY : http://www.nytimes.com/
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