Kofi Annan: Syria has failed to keep its ceasefire pledge
20 people killed on Thursday; Clinton calls ceasefire a ‘first step’ en route to political transition
International envoy Kofi Annan told the UN Security Council on Thursday he was “encouraged” at the start of a fragile ceasefire in Syria but said the government failed to keep its pledge to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from cities and towns. Israel Radio reported Thursday evening that 20 people had been killed since the ceasefire went into effect.
US Ambassador Susan Rice, the current council president, said Annan urged council members to demand that Syrian President Bashar Assad order his troops back to barracks.
She quoted Annan as saying in his video briefing to the council that “troops and heavy weapons remain in population centers.”
Annan asked the Security Council to quickly authorize the deployment of an advance UN team to monitor the ceasefire, ahead of the deployment of a larger monitoring mission. South Africa’s UN Ambassador Baso Sangqu said discussions on the text of a UN resolution authorizing the deployment would begin Thursday afternoon, and diplomats said it could be adopted as early as Friday.
The draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would authorize an advance element of up to 30 unarmed military observers and demand that the government ensure their “full and unimpeded freedom of movement throughout Syria” and guarantee the mission’s ability to interview any individual “freely or in private.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cautioned that a single gunshot could derail the fragile peace that started at 6 a.m. Damascus time. He urged both sides to refrain from provocation.
“The onus is on the government of Syria to prove that their words will be matched by their deeds at this time,” he said, adding that the world was watching with skeptical eyes.
Both Ban and Rice said it was up to the Syrian regime to maintain peace.
“Its track record up until today has been dismal,” Rice said. “We hope, but we clearly remain cautious in our assessment, that today becomes the start of a new way forward. But I think, frankly, we have a year’s worth of evidence that leads us all to enormous skepticism.”
The Assad regime has been using force to put down a civilian uprising for more than a year, and at least 9,000 people have died, according to UN estimates.
Meanwhile, Syria’s Interior Ministry called on refugees who escaped to Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey over the past few months to “come home.” According to a ministry statement Thursday, the implementation of the ceasefire has brought calm to the country — and there is no longer a reason for those who fled to remain refugees. It also told the refugees to ignore false reports that government troops are shooting at civilians.
Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari reiterated to reporters that his government is committed to the success of Annan’s mission and insisted that “we have already complied” with the requirement in his six-point peace plan to pull back troops and equipment.
But Rice countered that the Syrian ambassador was not in the Security Council chamber during Annan’s closed-door briefing and did not hear the assessment of the joint UN-Arab League envoy. She quoted Annan as saying Syrian troops and equipment “must return to barracks as soon as possible.”
Ja’afari said Syria’s commitment to making the Annan plan a success must be matched by Arab, regional and international countries that are funding and arming the rebels, singling out Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States.
In a statement issued before his videoconference briefing from Geneva, Annan said he was “encouraged by reports that the situation in Syria is relatively quiet and that the cessation of hostilities appears to be holding.”
Rice said Annan told the council he had received unconfirmed reports of some violence in some cities after the ceasefire took effect, but said this was not unusual in the early hours of a cessation of hostilities “as parties were testing each other.”
The resolution being considered by the Security Council also demands that the Syrian government withdraw its troops and heavy weapons from population centers and reiterates its call for unimpeded access for humanitarian workers.
If Syria does not implement its commitments, the draft expresses the council’s determination “to consider further measures as appropriate,” which could include sanctions.
That phrase is almost certain to be opposed by Russia and China, whose governments have backed the Assad government, and have previously blocked any reference threatening sanctions.
On Thursday, the Russian and Chinese ambassadors called the Syrian ceasefire an important step and said they support implementation of all points in the Annan plan — including the troop and equipment withdrawal.
“We’re encouraged that we do now have a cessation of violence in Syria,” Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said. “We hope it holds. Everybody needs to behave with maximum prudence for that to happen.”
He urged all countries “with influence on the parties” to help ensure that the ceasefire holds so political dialogue can start and Syria can “finally come out of this crisis.”
Churkin and China’s UN Ambassador Li Baodong said they will support the speedy deployment of UN monitors.
“It’s crucial for the monitors to be on the ground to make sure that any transgressions of the current state of end of violence is going to be detected,” Churkin said. “We are concerned at the possibility of provocations. We are concerned about the appeals for massive demonstrations. … This is the opposite of what needs to happen now.”
Li said the Chinese government has been working on the Syrian government and opposition parties, in close contact with Annan, “in order to ease tension and promote a political process.”
“Progress has been made, though it’s fragile, but we hope that through the joint efforts we can maintain this progress and can make more progress in the future,” he said.
Annan and Ban stressed the need to get a UN observer force in place.
“It is difficult to fully assess the situation on the ground, in the absence of UN observers. And therefore we are working with the Security Council to send an observer team as promptly as possible,” Ban told reporters.
Annan’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, has told reporters that the UN-backed mission would have about 200 to 250 observers and that nations were being asked to contribute soldiers.
Churkin spoke of trying to get 20-30 observers on the ground early next week.
Ban said the observer mission could get going almost as soon as it gains authorization.
