CAIRO, January 18, 2012 (AFP)
CAIRO, January 18, 2012 (AFP)
A group of 140 Arab rights groups demanded on Wednesday the withdrawal of the “flawed” Arab League observer mission from Syria and called for UN intervention to halt the violence.
The coalition sent a letter to the pan-Arab bloc urging it to withdraw the mission given the “flaws that have severely undermined” its efficiency and the Syrian government’s failure to implement the Arab League peace plan.
The letter also urged the UN Security Council “to take action to address the violence.”
The heavily criticised monitoring team has been in Syria since December 26 to oversee an Arab road map under which Damascus agreed to end the violence, withdraw the army from the main cities, give journalists and observers access to all parts of the country and free political prisoners.
The Arab League is due to meet on Saturday and Sunday to discuss its mission’s future, as well as a proposal by Qatar to send Arab troops to Syria that Damascus has flatly rejected.
“The monitoring mission lacks basic transparency and credibility, the mission is under the authority of Sudan’s ex-military intelligence director who was president’s Darfur adviser during the genocide,” allegedly committed there, said Radwan Ziadeh, president of one coalition member, the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies.
“No observers have been able to do their job: instead, the mission legitimises the Syrian regime,” Ziadeh added, in a statement representing the rights groups working in 19 different countries.
The unrest in Syria between the security forces and pro-democracy activists has left more than 5,400 people dead since it first erupted in March, according to the United Nations, with 400 killed since the mission’s deployment.
Former Arab League observer Anouar Malek, who resigned in protest over its credibility and aims, echoed Ziadeh’s criticism of the mission and his call for UN intervention.
“I was threatened with death for doing my job as I watched people being killed, beaten up and arrested by police, soldiers and militiamen. The Syrian regime is plainly defying the Arab League.
“I join the coalition’s call for an end to the mission and immediate action by the UN Security Council,” he said.
A tough UN Security Council resolution on Syria has been blocked by permanent members Russia and China, which defended the Arab mission on Wednesday.
“Since the Arab League observer mission began, the violence in Syria has not completely ended, but the security situation of major areas has improved,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin.
This “shows the mission is effective,” he added.
For its part, Moscow has warned against Western calls for punitive measures against Damascus, insisting the Syrian opposition is as much to blame for the violence as the regime.
