Message to Syria

Syrian forces killed two people and injured several others on Sunday in the latest bloody crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

Activists claimed that forces stormed a town on a highway leading to Turkey and carried out house-to-house raids.

The latest crackdown came as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad renewed efforts to appease widespread condemnation of government violence.

Al-Assad issued a decree on Sunday prohibiting the imprisonment of journalists and allowing wider access to information. The decree also pledged to create an independent national media council.

Journalists, however, were still banned from publishing "any content that would prejudice the national unity and security" or any material that would insult religious beliefs or incite sectarian problems. They were also forbidden from publishing any material related to the armed forces.

The latest reforms didn’t stop regional power broker, Turkey, from joining the Arab League in condemning the Syrian regime on Sunday.

The situation in Syria "reached a level that everything is too little, too late. We lost our confidence," Turkey's President, Abduallah Gul, told news agency Anatolia.

"Today in the world there is no place for authoritarian administrations... Those either will be replaced by force, or the governors of states will take the initiative to administer," Gul added.

Turkey, which had enjoyed close ties with Syria in recent years, has repeatedly called on President Bashar al-Assad to introduce reforms but has stopped short of calling for his departure.

Defying the Arab League

Bashar al-Assad's government has been using tanks and soldiers firing live ammunition to quell protests seeking reform and the removal of Assad himself as the country's leader. Some 2,200 people have been killed in the last few months, according to United Nations' estimates.

Arab League foreign ministers issued a statement early on Sunday in Cairo telling Syria to end months of bloodshed, arguing that stability in Syria was crucial for the region.

"The (Arab League) council expresses concern and worry over the dangerous developments in the Syrian arena that had caused thousands of casualties, including dead and wounded," the Arab League council said in a statement. The ministers agreed to send Secretary General Nabil Elaraby to Syria to push for reforms.

But Damascus dismissed the statement on Sunday claiming that it contained "unacceptable and biased language," asserting that they would act as if it had never been published.

In a diplomatic note seen by news agency AFP, Syria said the declaration was issued "despite the meeting having closed with an agreement that no statement would be published or statement made to the press," it said.

The Arab League has faced criticism from Arab commentators for its timid reaction to the violence. It spent months only voicing "concern," suggesting divisions among its members, some of whom are facing their own public protests.

The Arab League is composed of 23 Arab nations and has been under pressure to address the issues raised throughout the year in the events of the Arab Spring.

Persian perspective

Syria's closest ally Iran also weighed in on Saturday saying that a power vacuum in Damascus would destabilize the entire region.

Iran's interest in Syria runs deeper than the countries' good relations. Syria is Iran's conduit for aid to the powerful anti-Israel militias Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon.

Should Assad's regime fall, it could rob Iran of a loyal Arab partner in a region profoundly realigned by uprisings demanding more freedom and democracy.

Earlier in the week, the European Union imposed sanctions against an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the Quds force, accusing it of supplying the Syrian regime with weapons to use against protesters.

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill, Stuart Tiffen (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)
Editor: Andreas Illmer