Turkey to apply pressure on Syria

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

by admin

8 August 2011 Last updated at 22:34 ET

Anti-Bashar protesters with Syrian and Turkish flags in Ankara. File photo

Activists have staged a number of anti-Bashar rallies in Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is going to Syria to demand an end to a crackdown on protests by President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said he was running out of patience over “the savagery” of Syria’s security forces towards the protesters.

Mr Davutoglu’s visit comes as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have all recalled their ambassadors to Damascus.

Syrian tanks again pounded the eastern city of Deir al-Zour on Monday.

At least 50 people died on Sunday after the army launched a pre-dawn assault.

Activists said that as in recent days, many people had been afraid to leave their homes or take injured people to hospital for fear of being attacked.

Syrian state TV has reported that Mr Assad has appointed a new minister of defence, former army chief of staff Gen Dawoud Rajha. He replaces Gen Ali Habib, said the report.

Sana has also said troops are withdrawing from the city of Hama, which has come under heavy attack in recent days – witnesses say scores of people have died there.

Access to Syria has been severely restricted for international journalists and it is rarely possible to verify accounts by witnesses and activists.

Human rights activists say at least 1,700 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands arrested since the uprising began in mid-March. More than 300 people are believed to have died in the past week alone.

‘Tough reply’

On Tuesday, Mr Davutoglu, the architect of Turkey’s outreach to its Arab neighbours, will be making a last-ditch effort to persuade President Assad to change course, the BBC’s Jonathan Head in Istanbul reports.

Mr Davutoglu may threaten Turkish support for stronger action by the UN Security Council, although few believe he will have much success, our correspondent says.

President Assad’s spokeswoman has already warned of an equally tough reply from Damascus.

Turkey’s Muslim constituents sympathise with protesters in the neighbouring country who have also drawn inspiration from Islam, and there is outrage here over the attacks that have continued into the holy month of Ramadan, our correspondent says.

But he says that there is no suggestion yet that Ankara will downgrade its diplomatic ties. It is also opposed in principle to economic sanctions, which, if implemented by Turkey, really could hurt the Syrian government.

Dramatic intervention

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia shakes hands with Bashar al-Assad in Damascus (July 2010)

The criticism of Bashar al-Assad comes from one of the most influential Arab leaders

In a statement over the weekend, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia said the events in Syria were “unacceptable”, and that Damascus had to choose between “wisdom” or being “pulled down into the depths of chaos and loss”.

The BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut says that by Arab diplomatic standards, it was a highly dramatic intervention by the Saudi monarch, one of the most influential powers in the region.

King Abdullah said he had recalled his ambassador from Damascus for consultation. That move was followed by Kuwait and then Bahrain.

On Monday the Arab League’s head, Nabil al-Arabi, said he hoped the crisis could be overcome “by peaceful means and by launching a serious dialogue towards the reconciliation that the people have been demanding”.

Meanwhile the top Sunni Muslim authority, Cairo-based al-Azhar, said the situation in Syria had “gone too far”.

The US State Department has said it is “very much encouraged by the strong statements” from the region.

Damascus says it is tackling “armed terrorist gangs” and that its critics have ignored its promises of political reform.

: Syria’s anti-government protests, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, first erupted in mid-March after the arrest of a group of teenagers who spray-painted a revolutionary slogan on a wall. The protests soon spread, and human rights activists and opposition groups say 1,700 people have died in the turmoil, while thousands more have been injured.

: Although the arrest of the teenagers in the southern city of Deraa first prompted people to take to the streets, unrest has since spread to other areas, including Hama, Homs, Latakia, Jisr al-Shughour and Baniyas. Demonstrators are demanding greater freedom, an end to corruption, and, increasingly, the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.

: President Assad’s government has responded to the protests with overwhelming military force, sending tanks and troops into at least nine towns and cities. In Deraa and Homs – where protests have persisted ? amateur video footage shows tanks firing on unarmed protesters, while snipers have been seen shooting at residents venturing outside their homes.

: Some of the bloodiest events have taken place in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. In early June, officials claimed 120 security personnel were killed by armed gangs, however protesters said the dead were shot by troops for refusing to kill demonstrators. As the military moved to take control of the town, thousands fled to neighbouring Turkey, taking refuge in camps.

: Although the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo have seen pockets of unrest and some protests, it has not been widespread – due partly to a heavy security presence. There have been rallies in the capital – one with an enormous Syrian flag – in support of President Assad, who still receives the backing of many in Syria’s middle class, business elite and minority groups.

: The Assad family has been in power for 40 years, with Bashar al-Assad inheriting office in 2000. The president has opened up the economy, but has continued to jail critics and control the media. He is from the minority Alawite sect – an offshoot of Shia Islam ? but the country’s 20 million people are mainly Sunni. The biggest protests have been in Sunni-majority areas.

: Although the US and EU have condemned the violence and imposed sanctions, the UN Security Council has been unable to agree on a response. Some fear the country could descend into civil war if the government collapsed, while others believe chaos in Syria ? with its strategic location and its web of regional alliances – could destabilise the entire Middle East.