A day before the one year anniversary of the beginning of the so-called “Arab Spring” Russia was rebuked by the US, UK and France on Tuesday for continuing to sell weapons and military equipment to the Assad regime in Syria despite months of bloody repression by the regime which has resulted in the deaths of close to 7,500 people. "It is glaringly obvious that transferring weapons into a volatile and violent situation is irresponsible and will only fuel the bloodshed,”Britain's UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told the Security Council. Russia has refused all calls for UN Security Council action against Assad, but Western diplomats have consulted with Arab governments on a resolution which would be acceptable to all parties in the region.
Meanwhile, Arab League monitors from Gulf Arab states were withdrawn from Syria on Tuesday after Assad rejected a League plan for him to step down and allow a peaceful transition to a new government. The Arab League’s chief, Nabil Al Arabiy, subsequently called on the group to refer Syria to the UN Security Council. The Gulf Cooperation Council states said in a statement they were “certain the bloodshed and killing of innocents would continue, and that the Syrian regime would not abide by the Arab League’s resolutions.”
“Definitely the solution in Syria is not the solution suggested by the Arab League, which we have rejected. They have abandoned their role as the Arab League and we no longer want Arab solutions to the crisis,” said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. “Heading to the Security Council will be the third stage in their plan, and the only thing left is the last step of internationalization. They can head to New York or to the moon. So long as we are not paying for their tickets it is none of our concern.”
Meanwhile, in Israel’s southern border, Egyptian military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi declared on Tuesday that the country’s decades-old state of emergency will be lifted on Wednesday except where the fight against “thuggery” continues. The move was quickly dismissed by human rights groups as only cosmetic, and meant to placate protesters who are demanding larger reforms.
“For all purposes, the state of emergency has not been lifted,” said Hossam Bahgat, Director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), adding that the term “thuggery “will allow police to use their powers to search and detain anyone suspected of being a thug. ‘Thuggery’ does not refer to any recognizable criminal offence.”
For some thoughts on the future of the “Arab Spring” click HERE (PDF)
