Main focus of Friday, April 13, 2012

Fragile ceasefire in Syria

UN Special Envoy Annan has called for UN obeservers on the ground. (@AP)

The ceasefire that went into effect in Syria on Thursday has held so far despite widespread doubts that it could succeed. It is part of the peace plan mediated by UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan. But the plan only makes sense if it can pave the way for a political transformation, commentators write, doubting the honesty of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad must resign

The ceasefire in Syria is so unstable that the US and Europe urgently need to draw up a plan in case it fails, writes the left-liberal daily El País: "In a few days we will find out whether Annan's plan has any chance of survival. But this emergency attempt will only make sense if it builds a bridge for dialogue and political change. For a deal that no longer demands the resignation of the despot, but inexorably leads to precisely that outcome. Assad and his supporters have too much blood on their hands for anyone - including those who back him - to consider a continuation of his regime. … This time the US and Europe, which have the support of Turkey and the Arab League, should have a convincing alternative at hand to put an end to the terror in Syria in case diplomacy once again fails and the dictatorship tries to take advantage of the time-out to consolidate its brutal military control." (13/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Crises / War, » Europe, » U.S., » Syria

Integrate the many-voiced opposition

The post-Assad era in Syria must allow for the participation of all of the various social forces in the country, the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes commenting on the ceasefire: "It's now time to work out a political process for after Assad's departure. He is entirely capable of using the ceasefire to crush the opposition in other ways in an effort to prop up his regime. This opposition is multifaceted and many-voiced and even includes jihadists, although they still make up the smallest part. The Syrian people alone should decide Assad's fate, Annan says. And he's right. Nevertheless they have to be in a position to do so. Since domestic tensions won't disappear in Syria even in the best of cases, the post-Assad order must allow the participation of all political, social, religious and ethnic forces. It must diffuse the tensions, not exacerbate them to the point of causing an explosion." (13/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Crises / War, » Syria
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Syria is like Bosnia

Peace is still a long way off in Syria despite the ceasefire, the left-liberal daily Dnevnik comments, drawing parallels with the War in Bosnia: "Although most of the weapons in Syria fell silent yesterday, the country remains split domestically. The healing of the wounds left by civil war remains a pious wish on the part of Kofi Annan and his peace plan. It will already be a major victory if the ceasefire lasts. ... 20 years after the War in Bosnia, only 400 kilometres from Ljubljana, we can see what deep social rifts were left by the civil war, which the international community sat back and watched for so long. From the experience there it is clear that a Balkanisation of Syria must be prevented at any cost. Nevertheless the overheated geopolitical situation in the Middle East makes one wonder whether the West - and the Arab countries that long for peace - can learn from the mistakes made in the Balkans." (13/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Crises / War, » Bosnia and Herzegovina, » Syria
All available articles from » Aleš Gaube

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