Arab League message to Syria "based on media lies": foreign ministry

Arab League message to Syria "based on media lies": foreign ministry

The message from the Arab League (AL) ministerial committee "was basically based on media lies broadcasted by tendentious provocative TV channels over what happened in Syria Friday," a Foreign Ministry source said Saturday.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem received a message late Friday from Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani, who led a AL ministerial committee, expressing the AL's anger at the alleged bloodshed in the country on Friday, the source said.

According to the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV, a total of 42 people were killed Friday across Syria by government forces, as thousands of people took to streets in several cities calling for international protection and an air embargo on Syria.

The source suggested that the AL official "was supposed to contact Syria's foreign minister to find out the truth before announcing the committee's stance prompted by the channels of incitement."

He further said that the Foreign Ministry was surprised by the message one day ahead of a meeting in Doha, Qatar, between the Syrian government and the ministerial committee.

The source appealed to the committee to "work for reaching a solution conducive to ensure security and stability in Syria instead of igniting sedition."

Al-Moallem will brief the committee Sunday on what is actually happening in Syria, the source added.

The ministerial committee sent an urgent letter to the Syrian government on Friday to express its anger over the continuing bloodshed in the country, said a statement issued by the pan-Arab body late Friday.

The committee said it hoped the Syrian government could protect its civilians, said the statement.

The meeting to be held on Sunday between the committee and the Syrian government is expected to achieve practical results, the statement added.

On Wednesday, the AL ministerial committee, including foreign ministers of Qatar, Egypt, Oman, Algeria, Sudan and the AL chief Nabil al-Arabi, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. The two sides discussed ways to end the seven-month-long crisis through a dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said the meeting with al-Assad was clear and friendly and they felt the Syrian government's keenness to work with the committee.

At an emergency meeting held in Egypt's capital of Cairo on Oct. 16, the AL decided to give Syria a 15-day deadline to enact a cease-fire and called for a national dialogue between the Syrian authorities and the opposition.

More than 3,000 people, including army and security members, have been killed in the turmoil in Syria, according to figures released by the United Nations.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

English.news.cn   2011-10-29 20:29:15 FeedbackPrintRSS
DAMASCUS, Oct. 29 (Xinhua)