By Xinhua writers Li Laifang, Chen Cong
CAIRO, Nov.13 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League's (AL) decision to suspend Syrian membership and impose sanctions against Syria has made it more urgent for Syrian government to end the country's unrest and violence in accordance with an Arab peace initiative.
The measures, announced by the pan-Arab body on Saturday after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers, also included the calls for Arab states to withdraw their ambassadors in Syria and a meeting of all opposition groups in Syria in Egypt's capital of Cairo within three days to reach consensus.
Arab foreign ministers will meet again on Wednesday, the day of the start of the suspension, to discuss Syria's situation. There are no detailed sanctions yet on Syria from the AL. All these moves, a serious blow more symbolically than substantially for the time being, pushed Syrian government to respond quickly.
However, analysts hold different views as to whether the AL's moves would contribute to ending the Syrian crisis.
Abdel Gawad, a researcher with the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said the AL's strong stance was rather different from the previous tones and would encourage opposition groups and more people to join them.
The longer the Syrian crisis lasts, the more pressure the Syrian government will face, said the analyst in an interview with Xinhua. He was pessimistic about the political solution to the crisis.
AL Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi told reporters after Saturday's meeting that the AL contacted Syrian government four months ago but nothing had changed up till now. His remarks indicated the AL's growing impatience with the continued violence in Syria.
To avoid the repetition of the Libyan crisis model, the AL has been seeking to solve the Syrian crisis politically within the framework of Arab nations. Arabi reiterated the stance given the important role of Syria in the regional peace. However, according to the decisions, if the violence does not stop, the AL chief will contact international organizations, including the United Nations (UN).
"The decisions open the door for the introduction of international intervention," Akrm Houssam, a political analyst with the National Center for Middle East Studies in Cairo, told Xinhua. He worried that the scenario of Libya might be repeated.
The AL's role should be neutral and continue to organize negotiations between Syrian government and the opposition, he said. Due to big divisions between the opposition groups over whether to topple the current government and introduce foreign intervention, it is very difficult for the meeting of all opposition groups at the AL headquarters to have some results, he predicted.
While there should be more pressure on Syrian government, an opportunity should also be provided for Syrian government to draw a road map for carrying out political reforms, he said. The international community should work on this respect.
On Nov. 2, Syrian government accepted the peace initiate put forward by the AL. As efforts to implement the deal, Syria released some 553 prisoners and expressed its welcome of the visit of a fact-finding committee of the AL. But violence did not come to a complete end, which prompted the third extraordinary meeting on Saturday of AL foreign ministers within one month.
Shortly after the AL decision, Syrian ambassador to the AL Yusuf Ahmad said that the AL decision was illegal and made under the influence of the United States and western powers. He said Syria had implemented all articles of the peace deal.
Houssam said he regarded the Syrian official's remarks as natural political response to the AL decision. But he did not believe the United States or other Western powers had directly pressed for the decisions. Rather, it was public opinions of the Arab states that led to the decisions, he added.
Eighteen of the 22-member organization agreed to the decisions. Syria, Lebanon and Yemen opposed while Iraq abstained.
The AL's decisions have been hailed by the United States and European countries as well as some of Syria's opposition groups. Wael Merza, secretary general of the "Syrian National Council", reportedly thanked the AL for making the decisions, which he said maintained the credibility of the organization and showed its respect for Syrian people.
Basel Kowaisy, a member of the committee for supporting Syrian revolution in Egypt, told Xinhua the AL's decision showed the AL and its members began to seriously handle the Syrian crisis and would prompt Syrian government to respond to people's demands.
If the violence continues, the AL will turn to international organizations like the UN to seek help for protecting civilians, which meant the matter would be internationalized, he said.
The AL has actually given Syrian government four days to respond to the decisions. The next steps which the AL will take depends on how the situation in Syria develops.
At least 3,500 people have died since the unrest began in mid- March in Syria, according to latest UN figures. The complicatedness of the Syrian crisis makes it an ideal choice to solve it within the framework of Arab states, analysts say.
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