France puts U.S., UK & Arabs in the shade on Syria

French President Hollande at his press conference

France Tuesday became the first Western country to formally and unequivocally recognize Syria's newly formed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as “the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”

President François Hollande announced the move at his first televised news conference at the helm in Paris.

He told reporters at the Élysée Palace, “I announce today that France recognizes the Syrian National Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and thus as the future transitional government of a democratic Syria, allowing it to bring down the curtain on Bashar al-Assad's regime. Wherever liberated zones are established, they should come under its [the Coalition’s] authority.”

Hollande said France would look at the question of arming the Coalition, but that it would not support doing so "as long as it wasn't clear where these weapons went".

"With the Coalition, as soon as it is a legitimate government of Syria, this [arming] question will be looked at by France, but also by all countries that recognize this government," he said.

The Obama administration’s attitude vis-à-vis the Syrian opposition body it helped create in Doha earlier this week remains overtly ambivalent.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told Tuesday’s press briefing Washington recognized the National Coalition as a legitimate representative, but stopped short of describing it as a sole representative, saying the group must first demonstrate its ability to represent Syrians inside the country.

Here is how Toner put it:

“We did issue a statement the other day congratulating the representatives of the Syrian people who gathered in Doha for their formation of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. We look forward, obviously, to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course for the end of Assad’s bloody rule and marks the start, we believe, of a peaceful, just, and democratic future for the people of Syria.

“Obviously, we’re going to work with them in the coming days to ensure that our humanitarian and nonlethal assistance serves the needs of the Syrian people. In answer to your – in direct answer to your question, what happens now or what are you looking for next, I think we now have a structure in place that can prepare for a political transition, but that we’re looking for it to still establish the types of technical committees that will allow us to make sure our assistance gets to the right places, both nonlethal and humanitarian…

“We do think this is a legitimate representative of the Syrian people, that it does reflect the Syrian people, as we talked about, that diverse group of Syrian people. We think it meets those needs. I think as we move forward though, we’re going to look to see it, as I said, finalize the establishment of its organizational structures. We also want to see that it has a demonstrated ability to represent Syrians within Syria. I think that’s another aspect we’re going to look at…”

The United Kingdom was far more evasive than the United States.

British Foreign Minister William Hague, speaking at the Arab League in Cairo on the same day as Hollande and Toner, said the opposition Coalition must gain support from within Syria.

"That is a very crucial consideration, and if they do these things well then yes we would then be able to recognize them as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people," he said.

France has now gone further than even the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in their respective recognitions of the opposition Coalition.

While Paris recognized it as “the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people,” the League of Arab states described it simply as “the legitimate representative and principal interlocutor with the Arab League.”

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) grouping Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman spoke softheartedly of the new Syrian body as “the legitimate representative of the brotherly Syrian people.”

French president shows Syria opposition the way

President François Hollande addressing French ambassadors yesterday

Will the Syrian opposition have the wisdom to close ranks and take up the baton from French President François Hollande?

I exhort them to do so at all costs and without delay or hem and haw. They would instantly trump the Syrian regime and be recognized by a world power and permanent member of the UN Security Council as sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

Here is what Hollande said yesterday in reference to the Syria crisis during an annual foreign policy speech to French ambassadors, his first as president:

…The second challenge is the Syria crisis.

The principle is simple: Bashar al-Assad must go. There is no political solution with him. He is a threat. He continues, with unprecedented violence, to massacre people, destroy cities and cause the death of women and children. We had further proof of that in the last few days. This is unbearable to the human conscience and unacceptable as regards security and stability in the region. The International Criminal Court should be seized of the matter so that those responsible for these atrocities could be judged one day.

I want to be clear: France assumes all her responsibilities and spares no effort to ensure the Syrian people attain their freedom and security.

To achieve this, we have to overcome hurdles at the Security Council; our foreign affairs minister is working on that. We will have another go because the Syria crisis is a threat to everyone, chiefly to Syria’s neighbors. We will keep up as much as necessary the pressure and persuasion at the Security Council to arrive at an international community consensus. But for now, we must act.

First, we have to intensify efforts to ensure the political transition takes place as soon as possible. In this context, France asks the Syrian opposition to form a provisional government — inclusive and representative — that can become the legitimate representative of the new Syria. We urge our Arab partners to quicken this step and France will recognize the provisional government of the new Syria once it is formed.

Furthermore, and without holding back, we provide strong support to those striving on the ground for a free and democratic Syria that upholds the security of all its communities. We mainly help those setting up liberated areas on Syrian territory. We’re working on the buffer zones proposed by Turkey. We are doing so in tandem with our closest partners. Lastly, and I say so in all seriousness, we remain – together with our allies – very much on our guard to prevent the use of chemical weapons by the regime, which would provide legitimate cause for direct intervention by the international community.

I am aware of the difficulty of the task and I assess the risks but the stakes are greater than Syria – they concern the overall security of the Middle East, and particularly Lebanon’s independence and stability.

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Want to know Washington’s reaction to President Hollande’s speech?

Some dilly-dallying at yesterday’s State Department press briefing, where spokesperson Victoria Nuland was asked:

QUESTION: Well, I was going to ask about – the French President has called on the Syrian opposition to form a provisional government, and he said that France would recognize that provisional government. I wonder if the U.S. has a position on that? Would you support that move, and do you think it’s a viable endeavor at the moment?

MS. NULAND: Well, as you know, we have been working with the Syrian opposition for some time as it’s worked through its own code of conduct and its own planning for a transitional government. We have been encouraging the opposition to begin thinking – both the opposition outside Syria, the opposition inside Syria – about the plan that it put forward on July 3^rd, and if that were to be implemented, who it might want to have in its transitional government.

But as you know, they are continuing to confer among themselves. What’s most important is that, moving forward, the Syrian opposition outside Syria and the Syrian opposition inside Syria coordinate and collaborate both in terms of the kind of Syria that they want to see -– this code of conduct -– but also in terms of the transitional structures that they would support and the emerging leaders that they see. But those conversations continue with Syrians inside and outside.

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French President François Hollande’s speech came as Syrian activists continued the body count in Darayya, a township on the outskirts of Damascus, where government troops killed hundreds over the last week.

The activists have now put the Darayya death toll at 384. They posted a log on the internet showing the full names and ages of the civilians killed from three days of heavy shelling culminating in a ground attack last Saturday, when Syrian government troops and allied militiamen went from door to door summarily executing men, women and children.

Going through the log, I counted among the dead 41 females, ten infants and 12 boys and girls aged between three and 18 years.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman Martin Nesirky yesterday said, “The secretary-general is certainly shocked by those reports and he strongly condemns this appalling and brutal crime… This needs to be investigated immediately, in an independent and impartial fashion.”

Putin and Hollande spar over Assad

Putin and Hollande sparring in Paris (Photo from bbc.co.uk)

In Paris yesterday, Russia’s Vladimir Putin disputed a remark by France’s François Hollande that any solution to the Syrian crisis requires Bashar al-Assad to step down or be removed.

A few hours later in Geneva, Putin’s representative voted against a resolution by the UN Human Rights Council calling for a special inquiry into the May 25 Houla massacre that left 108 people, including 49 children and 34 women, dead. The resolution was approved by 41 votes in favor, three against (Russia, China and Cuba), and two abstaining (Uganda and Ecuador).

In the resolution, Council members deplored the “outrageous killings” in Houla and emphasized the continued failure of the Syrian authorities to protect and promote the rights of all Syrians.

The Council called for the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria to conduct a “transparent, independent and prompt investigation into violations of international law with a view to hold to account those responsible for widespread, systematic and gross human rights violations, including violations that may amount to crimes against humanity.”

In addition, the Council asked the Commission of Inquiry to publicly identify, if possible, those responsible for the atrocities and to submit a report on the results of its investigation at its next session, which will be held from June 18 to July 6.

It also requested that joint special envoy Kofi Annan brief the Council at the said upcoming session.

The Commission of Inquiry was established at the Council’s second Special Session and it presented its first report on 28 November last year, concluding that the substantial body of evidence it had gathered indicated that gross violations of human rights had been committed by Syrian military and security forces since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011.

In its update to the Council in May, the Commission of Inquiry said the Syrian Government has so far not provided it with access to the country.

In addition, it said the Syrian army and security services committed most of the serious violations as part of military or search operations in locations thought to host defectors or armed people, and those seen as rebel supporters.

Before Friday’s vote, the top UN Human Rights official, Navi Pillay, urged the UN Security Council to consider referring the case of Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In Paris meanwhile, Putin and Hollande clashed over Assad’s ouster.

“We have disagreements over who is responsible for the violence and over the need for Assad to leave,” Hollande told a joint press conference after a working dinner. “The actions of the Syrian regime are intolerable… Any solution to the crisis requires the departure of Assad,” the French president said

“Why do we think that if we push someone from the current leadership away from power, prosperity will arrive there tomorrow?” Putin retorted.

“What is happening in Libya, in Iraq? We all know what kind of a tyrant [Muammar] Gaddafi was. Maybe. But do you know what was happening in Sirte when militants entered the city? Why do you not write about that? Has humanitarian wellbeing settled there?” Putin asked journalists.

Putin said Russia, which supplies arms to Syria, “has no special military or economic ties” to the country and that Assad visited Paris (under Nicolas Sakozy) more than Moscow.

"We are not for Assad, not for his opposition, we want to reach a situation where violence ends and a large-scale civil war is averted," he said.

The Russian president said it was "counterproductive" to declare Annan’s peace mission a failure, but declined to say how long it should be given to work.

The Russian foreign ministry Friday backed Damascus claims that the Houla massacre was the work of “terrorist gangs” intent on undermining Annan’s mission.

However, Putin took a different line, appearing to concede that government forces had at least played a part in killing civilians, but saying the rebels were guilty of similar acts.

"How many peaceful civilians were killed by the opposite side? Did you count? The count goes into the hundreds there too. Our goal is make peace between the sides of the conflict."

Asked whether sanctions should be toughened against Syria, Putin said the UN Security Council should first of all address the issue.

“I think you know sanctions don’t always work effectively,” he said.

Putin said Russia would accept “everything acceptable to the Syrian people.”

“For that acceptable solution to be found,” he said, “violence needs to be stopped on both sides, all conflicting parties be seated at the negotiating table and a situation created when they are able to agree with one another.”

He said no one might resolve state structure or country administration issues for the Syrian state.

“If you think you can decide that for other nations, go to Cairo now and take part in the Egyptian presidential elections. You can’t do that! Nor can you or anyone else do that in Syria,” Putin said.

In his column today for the leading Saudi daily Asharq Alawsat, Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, head of Alarabiya TV news channel, says, “Not only on Syria, but Russia’s stance has been negative on most crucial issues.”

Waiting for positive signals on Syria from Moscow is like building castles in the air, he says. “All the justifications we give the Russians in the hope they would shift their Syria position are unwarranted. They will only do so after Assad’s downfall.”

Rashed says, “I can draw a long list of comparable positions taken by Russia on major international problems, like Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Libya and now Syria. Russia stood by the villain until the end in all these cases.” Moscow’s support is also what encouraged Iran to overreach itself in its nuclear program, causing a host of serious international and regional problems in the Gulf.

Recommended link:

What Russia taught Syria

"Lebanese and Syrians: Good riddance, Sarkozy"

Sarkozy and Assad in Paris (top) and in Damascus (below)

Should French voters boot out French President Nicolas Sarkozy from the Elysée in two weeks’ time “most Lebanese and Syrians would feel somehow vindicated,” according to Eyad Abu Shakra, a veteran political analyst writing today for the Saudi daily Asharq Alawsat.

Sarkozy faces an uphill struggle in the May 6 second round of the presidential election, after coming second in Sunday's first ballot.

He won 27.1% of the vote, while his Socialist rival François Hollande took 28.6%, the first time a sitting president lost in the first round.

Hollande's narrow victory on Sunday gives him the upper hand in the May 6 runoff.

Surely, Abu Shakra writes, the choice of French president belongs to the French voter, adding:

“No one in genuine democracies chooses a government or president based on external wishes or directives. But in a world of interlocked interests and grandiloquence about human rights and democratic choices… victims are entitled to rejoice when free voters pass a fair verdict against someone who undermined their interests.

“‘Sarkozy’s France’ talked and acted adequately as concerns the now-stumbling Arab Spring. But its words and deeds won’t erase from the memory of the Lebanese firstly and the Syrians secondly that Nicolas Sarkozy, more than any other leader, undercut the Lebanese people’s March 2005 uprising and rehabilitated the Syrian regime” of President Bashar al-Assad.

Sarkozy, who assumed office in May 2007, quickly chose to stage a grand entry into the slippery politics of the Middle East by reversing Jacques Chirac's policy of isolating Syria.

In 2008, he invited Assad to the July 14 Bastille Day military parade, the high point of the French national calendar.

Two months later, in September 2008, Sarkozy became the first western head of state to visit Damascus, thereby cutting Assad slack in his effort to ward off being seriously investigated for the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and other Lebanese leaders, which Chirac blamed on Syria.

Claude Guéant with Assad (top) and Sarkozy (below)

Assad paid two working visits to Paris in November 2009 and December 2010 to consolidate bilateral ties.

In Abu Shakra’s opinion,  “Sarkozy is the man who, after Hariri’s assassination on 14 February 2005, wasted the biggest opportunity to alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese and Syrians…

“A strange combination of personal reasons (such as Sarkozy’s hatred of Jacques Chirac and all he stands for) and political motives (such as his special links to the Israeli lobby in France) drove Sarkozy and his key aides, mainly Claude Guéant, to turn French policy on its head and rehabilitate Assad…

“Yesterday, the French decided they’ve seen enough of Sarkozy and have had their fill of his chicanery…”

France would stay the course on Syria post-Sarkozy

From R.: Sarkozy, Le Pen, Hollande, Mélenchon and Bayrou (AFP image from www.bbc.co.uk)

France’s tough line on Syria won’t butter up with the anticipated exit of President Nicolas Sarkozy from the Elysée.

Nor would France’s Arab Spring policy change much, writes Ms Randa Takieddine, Paris bureau chief for the Saudi-owned daily al-Hayat who is into her fourth coverage of French presidential campaigns.

The first round of the 2012 presidential election will take place on Sunday, with a most likely second round runoff being held on May 6.

French Socialist presidential candidate François Hollande is projected by opinion polls to beat Sarkozy in the runoff to become France’s first Socialist president for 17 years.

Takieddine says Hollande is all but assured of victory in the second round, because he would get votes transferred from Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Eva Joly, respectively the Left Party and Green Party candidates. But she says the votes for rightist and centrist candidates, Marine Le Pen and François Bayrou, are unlikely to be moved to Sarkozy in the runoff.

With first round voting 72 hours away, Takieddine writes, “the question is whether a new president would change France’s Middle East policy. The answer is that French interests require France’s Arab policy to remain unchanged, irrespective of the choice of foreign minister. Certainly the style or approach might change, depending on the person in charge.

“On the Arab-Israeli issue, every new French administration has aspired to play a peacemaking role, albeit through the European Union. There is no doubt Hollande would continue to support the Arab Spring.

“As for Syria, Hollande has explicitly condemned the practices of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“Readying the Middle East files for a new president would be career diplomats from all political hues. Denis Pietton, the former French ambassador to Lebanon who is known for his Left-leaning views, was recently appointed head of the Middle East and North Africa desk at the Quai d'Orsay because he is one of France’s best Orientalists.

“True, most Arab governments know little about Hollande and would rather see Sarkozy win a second term. But French foreign policy remains a constant. It was far from being a contentious issue in the campaign.

“Nonetheless, should Hollande win the presidency, he would be well-advised to opt for an adept foreign minister -- someone like Hubert Védrine, one of France’s best ministers of foreign affairs (from 1997 to 2002).

“But Védrine’s name is not in the hat for foreign minister as yet. Names that are include:

-- Laurent Fabius (prime minister from July 1984 to March 1986)

-- Jean-Louis Bianco (Elysée secretary-general for nine years under François Mitterrand)

-- Élisabeth Guigou (a former minister of European affairs)

-- Or maybe Martine Aubry, First Secretary of the Socialist Party. That’s if Hollande did not name her prime minister.