Syrian National Council Slams Brahimi’s Comments on Assad, Demands Apology
The opposition Syrian National Council described as "unacceptable" on Sunday comments by new U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi that it was too soon for him to call for President Bashar Assad to step down.
"The revolutionary Syrian people were shocked and dismayed by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi's statements," the exiled opposition group.
"We call on the international envoy -- who has not yet consulted with any Syrians on his appointment or his mission -- to apologize to our people for taking this unacceptable position," it added.
Brahimi's comments only served to give Assad's government a "license to kill tens of thousands more Syrians," the SNC said.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency, the veteran Algerian diplomat, named on Friday to replace former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, said it was too soon for him to follow his predecessor in saying that Assad must leave office.
"It's much too early for me to say. I don't know enough about what is happening," the news agency quoted him as saying.
Brahimi's appointment by the U.N. Security Council was welcomed by the West as well as Assad's traditional allies, Russia and China, although the White House said it would be seeking clarifications on the terms of his mandate.
The controversy came as U.N. observers deployed to oversee an abortive peace plan brokered by Annan prepared to wrap up their mission in Syria on Sunday as violence continued to rage.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/50552 |