Thursday, March 28, 2013

Arab League Formally Recognize Syria's Rebels



Arab League: Legitimizing Syria's opposition -- Al Jazeera

How significant is the representation of the Syrian opposition in the Arab League for the ongoing conflict?

The Emir of Qatar has welcomed representives of the Syrian National Coalition to the Arab League summit in Doha, and invited them to take the seats of the Assad government.

Damascus reacted furiously to the decision, saying the Arab League had handed Syria's stolen seat to "bandits and thugs".

Syria's membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 as punishment for its brutal crackdown on the opposition.

Qatar's leader, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, opened the summit by urging the UN Security Council to stop the killing in Syria's two-year-old conflict, and hold those responsible to account before international courts.

He also gave a bleak assessment of the harsh reality in Syria:

Read more ....

More News On the Arab League Legitimizing Syria's Opposition

Syrian opposition takes Syria’s Arab summit seat
-- Washington Post
Syrian Opposition Joins Meeting of Arab League -- New York Times
Syrian opposition representatives take country’s seat at Arab summit in Qatar -- Washington Post/AP
Syria rages at Qatar for giving opposition its Arab League seat -- Reuters
Qatar orchestrates unity at the Doha 'summit of the Syrian seat' -- Ian Black
The Arab League Actually Does Something -- Michael Stephens, Foreign Policy

My Comment: This is a huge victory for Syria's rebels. Iran and Russia (not surprisingly) have condemned this move by the Arab league.

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