Mixed reaction to Arab League call for UN peacekeepers in Syria

Dubai An Arab League call for a UN peacekeeping force in Syria is an indication of a more pro-active organisation, but there is no precedent in the call, analysts told Gulf News.

"The Arab League decision exceeded expectations but the situation maybe requires a more radical approach since the policy of giving chances to the Syrian regime [is] failing," Lebanese analyst Hazeem Sagieyh said.

According to Nabeel Abdul Fateh, head of the Cairo-based Al Ahram Centre for Social and Historical Studies, the Arab League had adopted this stance because it was preparing to bring "the Syrian case again to the Security Council and exert different pressure against a Russian-Chinese veto."

The call has raised some eyebrows in the Arab world as to the intentions of the Arab League, given its historically lame-duck nature.

However, the league is not setting any precedent in its current diplomatic fury over Syria.

It was the Arab league which referred the Libyan issue to the UN Security Council, leading to military intervention by Nato.

The Arab league called on the United Nations to protect civilians following the crazed threats of toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi. The international community imposed a no-fly zone and later launched military strikes against pro-regime targets.

Historically, there have been certain cases where the Arab League has intervened as well.

In the Iraqi case, in 1990, an Arab league resolution was adopted to enlist the help of foreign forces in liberating Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion. Two no-fly zones were imposed in the northern and southern parts of the country.

In the case of the Lebanese civil war, the league also decided to dispatch Arab troops, Abdul Fateh said.

Security Council veto

Both China and Russia recently vetoed the adoption of a resolution by the Security Council that would have pressured Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to step down.

That draft resolution also would have demanded that Al Assad halt the crackdown on dissent, implement an Arab League peace plan requiring him to hand over power to his vice-president and allow the creation of a unity government to clear the way for elections.

The position of both Russia and China caused uproar in many western and Arab circles.

On Sunday, the Arab League took a tougher stance against the Al Assad regime, calling for a joint UN peacekeeping force in Syria and urging Arab states to sever all diplomatic contact with Al Assad.

"The time has come for decisive action to stop the bloodshed suffered by the Syrian people since the start of last year," Arab League chief Nabeel Al Arabi told Arab foreign ministers.

"We must move quickly in all directions... to end or break the ongoing cycle of violence in Syria."

However, Syria's state news agency said the Al Assad regime had dismissed the league's position, which was arrived at without a Syrian representative in attendance.

Immediate ceasefire

The league also called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Syria. It said the same resolution must emphasise on the protection of civilians and humanitarian efforts directed at victims of violence.

The league also demanded that the Al Assad regime end its siege on neighbourhoods and villages.

Press reports quoted the final statement of the meeting as urging Syrian opposition groups to unite ahead of a ‘Friends of Syria' meeting in Tunisia on February 24. The meeting will see the United States, its European allies and Arab nations seek a solution to end the uprising.

Abdul Aziz Bin Saqr, chairman of the Gulf Research Centre, said the league's decisions need more clarification.

"The tone sounds sharp, but on the ground the picture still unclear," he said.

"It doesn't speak of arming [the] Syria Free Army and how. It doesn't speak of a mechanism to make peace before keeping it. Time is in the favour of the Syrian government and not against it."