Nabil al Arabi, Arab League chief, concedes Syria mission not going to plan
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad waves at supporters during a rare public appearance in Damascus on January 11, 2012 in which he vowed to defeat a ‘conspiracy’ against Syria, a day after he blamed foreign interests for stoking months of deadly violence.
Arab League chief Nabil al Arabi said on Thursday the reports of continued violence in Syria is “very worrisome” and admitted that the mission is not going to plan.
The observers were sent to Syria to stop the violence, but conceded in a BBC interview “it has not stopped. That's why we have to rethink what we can do."
Despite continuing violence and the yesterday’s reported death of french journalist Gilles Jacquier, Arabi defended the Syria mission.
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“Peaceful demonstrations have multiplied with much larger numbers” and a large number of military vehicles have withdrawn from cities, he said.
The growing doubt cast upon the League mission in Syria hit a sour note when Anwar Malek, who was a part of the monitor mission, called it a “farce” and left the country Tuesday. Another 11 observers were reportedly also considering abandoning the mission, according to the Guardian.
"What I saw was a humanitarian disaster. The regime is not just committing one war crime, but a series of crimes against its people," Malek told Al Jazeera.
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The Arab League chief dismissed Malek’s accusations against the mission, saying he does not take Malek’s criticisms seriously because he “did not perform anything.”
“He was not on the ground. He did not leave his hotel, I’m sorry to say that,” Arabi said. “However, he is right that the Syrian government is not acting in good faith.”
Syrian president Bashar al Assad also took a swing at the Arab League Wednesday. The Arab League is ineffective, a key element of a international conspiracy against Syria and has never acted in the interest of Arabs, Assad said Wednesday.
The Arab League will meet Jan. 16 to discuss whether the mission should continue.
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