综合一区欧美国产,99国产麻豆免费精品,九九精品黄色录像,亚洲激情青青草,久久亚洲熟妇熟,中文字幕av在线播放,国产一区二区卡,九九久久国产精品,久久精品视频免费

Syria needs reforms

Updated: 2011-11-01 08:05

(China Daily)

  Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

The day after dozens were killed, in one of the deadliest single-day tolls since protests erupted in Syria more than seven months ago, the United Nations (UN) and the Arab League issued separate condemnations of the violence on Saturday.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced the international concern over the ongoing crisis, when he said, "The calls of the Syrian people for change must be answered with far-reaching reforms, not repression and violence."

Syria is clearly in a state of internal political crisis. According to the UN, at least 3,000 people have lost their lives in the country since the unrest began in mid-March.

It is no surprise that the NATO powers, inspired by their successful military intervention in Libya, shifted focus on Syria.

However, given the geopolitical sensitivity of Syria as the nerve center of the Middle East and the weak position of the Syrian opposition, the Western powers have so far restricted themselves to sanctions aimed at Syrian President Bashar Assad and the ruling elite and have refrained from any military intervention, such as the NATO action in Libya. Yet, international pressure upon Syria for political reform is increasingly building up.

Echoing the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement that Assad has "lost legitimacy", the European Union (EU) widened sanctions against Assad and the Syrian state. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that fall of the Assad government is "unavoidable", while the British government is urging Assad to step down.

Early last month the EU welcomed the formation of the opposition Syrian National Council, a coalition of seven Syrian opposition factions, as "a positive step forward".

Although Russia and China jointly vetoed a Western-backed draft resolution at the UN Security Council - because the resolution criticizing the Syrian government for allegedly suppressing protests would have opened the door to possible military action - the stance of noninterference in Syria's internal affairs does not come unconditionally.

China called on the Middle East on Thursday to halt all forms of violence in Syria and take all necessary measures to prevent bloodshed. "The people's legitimate demands should be respected as a precondition for pushing the reform process," Wu Sike, China's special envoy to the Middle East, said in a statement in Damascus last week.

In the meantime, the Arab League has proposed an initiative to end the crisis in Syria and embark on dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition.

Despite his warning to the Western powers that any military intervention in Syria would cause an "earthquake" in the Middle East, Assad should recognize that it is matter of urgency for the Syrian government to reach a political agreement with the opposition on needed reforms.

(China Daily 11/01/2011 page8)

突泉县| 章丘市| 陇南市| 巴青县| 浠水县| 八宿县| 商丘市| 葫芦岛市| 尼玛县| 长治市| 兴安盟| 井陉县| 南昌县| 瑞昌市| 望都县| 湖北省| 红原县| 阳原县| 河池市| 和林格尔县| 乌兰察布市| 黄陵县| 梁平县| 民丰县| 灵武市| 炎陵县| 玉溪市| 东明县| 京山县| 谷城县| 石台县| 安国市| 通州市| 三亚市| 柳河县| 乐清市| 沁源县| 卢氏县| 锦屏县| 沽源县| 桂阳县|