Kofi Annan: Syria must accept peace plan

Key diplomats, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said Tuesday that the Syrian government's acceptance of a plan to forge peace and end violence must be more than lip service.

"Given (President Bashar) al-Assad's history of overpromising and underdelivering, that commitment must now be matched by immediate actions," Clinton said. "We will judge Assad's sincerity and seriousness by what he does, not what he says."

U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan viewed Syria's acceptance of his plan Tuesday as an "important initial step."

 

 

Annan's six-point proposal was the cornerstone of a statement endorsed last week by the U.N. Security Council.

Annan spokesman Ahmad Fawzi stressed that "implementation will be key, not only for the Syrian people, who are caught in the middle of this tragedy, but also for the region and the international community as a whole."

Al-Assad's regime has previously committed to end the violence that has raged since March 2011, when the government launched a fierce crackdown against protesters. The United Nations estimates that the Syrian conflict has killed more than 9,000 people; opposition activists have put the toll at more than 10,000.

Clinton said the regime can prove its commitment by ordering its forces to stop firing and move away from populated areas, permit aid workers to come in, release political prisoners, allow unobstructed media access and begin the process of a democratic transition.

Annan has pledged to work with the Syrian opposition to ensure its part of the bloodshed ends, Clinton said.

At least 57 more people were killed Tuesday, opposition activists said. The deaths took place in Hama, Homs, Idlib, the Damascus suburbs and Deir Ezzor, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria. Clashes erupted near the Lebanese border in Homs province between the opposition Free Syrian Army and regime soldiers, the Local Coordination Committees said.

The Syrian government routinely blames the vaguely defined "armed terrorist groups" for violence in the country, while most reports from inside Syria suggest the government is slaughtering civilians in an attempt to wipe out dissidents.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the plan would be "a significant first step" but only if it is "genuinely and seriously meant."

"This has not been the case with previous commitments the regime has made,"

German Ambassador to the U.N. Peter Wittig noted that "Syria has a history of credibility gaps." He said it "would be useful to learn in due course more about Kofi Annan's assessment of the reaction by the Syrians."

The plan calls for:

• "An inclusive Syrian-led political process" to address grass-roots grievances.

• A commitment to halt fighting and forge a U.N.-supervised halt of violence by the government and opposition groups.

• Timely humanitarian aid.

• Speeding up the release of "arbitrarily detained" people, including those engaged in "peaceful political activities."

• Ensuring "freedom of movement" for journalists.

• Respecting peaceful demonstrations and "freedom of association."

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