DAMASCUS, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Syria's two conflicting sides showed adamant stands before the arrival of UN-Arab League special representative Lakhdar Brahimi, casting a shadow over the proposals he may raise in efforts to end the Syrian crisis.
Ahead of the visit, several reports have leaked the topics and proposals Brahimi would likely raise with the Syrian leadership though no confirmation has been made by him, who is still tight- lipped about the essence of his endeavor.
Brahimi has been travelling around the Middle East trying to delineate a full vision before putting forth any proposal to end the violence that has been picking up in the last weeks.
During a visit to Tehran on Sunday, Brahimi appealed to Iranian leaders to help arrange a cease-fire in Syria during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins on Oct. 26.
The Syrian government announced a day earlier that it is interested in exploring a cease-fire in the 19-month conflict as proposed by Brahimi, but stipulated the commitment of the other party of the conflict. The head of the National Syrian Council, Abdul-Baset Seda, also welcomed the truce.
Despite the apparent leniency, the mission is still facing serious obstacles due to the divergence of opinions of main players in the Syrian crisis.
Media reports have said that Iran introduced its own three- point initiative to solve the Syrian crisis and has already relayed it to Brahimi.
They said that the Iranian initiative calls for an immediate cease-fire, prevents foreign intervention of all forms and urges a political dialogue between the Syrian leadership and the opposition.
Iran had brought up those ideas during many recent regional and international meetings, but Turkey had insisted that a fourth point should be added, namely the departure of the Syrian administration prior to the implementation of the three other points.
The Iranian plan suggests a transitional period in Syria that would eventually lead to presidential and parliamentarian elections under the supervision of Syrian President Bashar al- Assad.
Defected Colonel Riad Al-Assad, the commander of the "Free Syrian Army" militia, ruled out the idea of sending international peacekeepers to Syria, saying that what is needed nowadays is an immediate and decisive measure in the country, mainly the overthrowing of the Syrian administration.
He stressed that his militia would never accept any Iranian initiative, citing Iran's close ties with the Syrian leadership.
He also criticized Brahimi's proposal for a cease-fire during Eid al-Adha, saying "what was needed is a permanent cessation of killings and bombings that are taking place and not a truce for two days."
Despite denial by his spokesman Ahmed Fawzi, leaked reports have said that Brahimi has drawn up a plan to deploy some 3,000 international peacekeepers in Syria, 2,000 of them would be initially deployed along the long and porous borders with Turkey, in an effort to deconstruct the Syrian crisis instead of getting lost in the whirlpool of the one package solution adopted by former UN envoy Kofi Annan.
However, Syria was quick to shrug off the proposal.
"Any military presence in Syria, whatever its form and style might be, and under any slogan, pretext, banner or title is rejected," al-Thawra newspaper, which reflects the government's thinking, said in an editorial Tuesday.
The paper said such military presence would be an "interlude for the presence of international powers, which is basically unacceptable and non-negotiable, because it will be an attempt to compensate for the foiled attempts to bring in direct foreign intervention."
It said the only way to end the crisis is to unite efforts to stop the armament of "terrorists."
The Syrian Foreign Ministry's spokesman said Tuesday that Syria is waiting for the arrival of Lakhdar Brahimi to listen to the outcome of his tour to a number of countries, including those that have overt influence on armed groups.
Observers believe that Brahimi's mission has very little chance to succeed, mainly because of Syria's rejection to the presence of any international military force on its territories, the U.S. position which seems leery about sending troops under the international umbrella, and Turkey's discontent with the presence of an international force along the borders where the Kurds are residing.
Moreover, with the exception of France, there is no European country ready to send a single soldier to an area convulsed since last year by violent and bloody events.
Deputy Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad said Tuesday that Bashar al-Assad has forged a new plan that will be used in the upcoming days and will lead eventually to "victory."
"We tell them (the rebels) you will not win because (our) victory is now very close," Meqdad said at a celebration organized by a Syrian non-governmental group that aims to honor Syrian journalists and politicians in Damascus.
He also admonished the Syrian opposition groups to come together with a unified plan for dialogue in the country.
|
