|
PARIS – France's president said Friday that only the departure of BasharAssad would end the violence in Syria, saying his regime had actedin an "intolerable way." Francois Hollande, who was elected in May, again advocated forpressure and sanctions to force out the Syrian leader, continuingFrance's tough line on the country, where an anti-governmentuprising has raged for more than a year. "The regime of Bashar Assad has conducted itself in anunacceptable, intolerable way and has committed acts thatdisqualify it" from power, Hollande said after meeting with RussianPresident Vladimir Putin, Syria's principal backer and protector. "There is no possible exit from this situation except with thedeparture of Bashar Assad," he added. International pressure is mounting on Syria, including condemnationFriday from the United Nation's top human rights body for themassacre last week of more than 100 civilians, apparently at thehands of government troops and pro-regime thugs. "Sanctions are part of the indispensable and necessary pressure,"Hollande added, while recognizing that the country is hurtlingtoward civil war. In March, the U.N. put the death toll from the uprising andcrackdown at 9,000, but many hundreds more have died since. Putin ducked a question about sanctions, saying that they were"still not effective." He also would not be drawn on whether Assad should go, saying onlythat a negotiated solution that was acceptable to the Syrian peoplewould be acceptable to Russia. "We want to reduce the violence to the minimum," he said. "We arenot for Bashar Assad or for his adversaries. We want to arrive at asituation where the violence is ended and the possibility of acivil war is completely avoided." Russia, along with China, has twice shielded Assad's regime fromU.N. sanctions over his crackdown on protests. The two were among the few countries that voted against Friday'sresolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council, condemning themassacre in the cluster of villages known as Houla. Moscow has also backed the Syrian government's conclusion that"extremists" and "militants" — words Damascus uses to referto rebel fighters — were behind the killings. According to preliminary U.N. investigations, at least 49 childrenunder the age of 10 were among the dead — with entirefamilies apparently executed in their homes. U.N. investigatorshave said there is strong evidence that pro-regime fighters werebehind the massacre. Friday's resolution instructs an expert panel to conduct an"international, transparent, independent and prompt investigation"and echoes calls by U.N. rights chief Navi Pillay for the U.N.Security Council to consider referring Syria to the InternationalCriminal Court. On his first trip abroad since returning to the presidency, Putintold reporters in Germany that he still believed a politicalsolution in Syria was possible. "It requires a certainprofessionalism and patience," he said. ___ Jordans reported from Geneva. Associated Press writers Geir Moulsonin Berlin, Nataliya Vasilyeva and Mansur Mirovalev in Moscow, andSarah DiLorenzo in Paris contributed. I am an expert from automobiledvd-players.com, while we provides the quality product, such as BMW Car DVD Player Manufacturer , KIA DVD Player Manufacturer, Automobile DVD Players,and more.
Related Articles -
BMW Car DVD Player Manufacturer, KIA DVD Player Manufacturer,
|
