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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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16Sep13
U.S. and Allies Push for Strong U.N. Measure on Syria's Arms
Secretary of State John Kerry and the foreign ministers of France and Britain said on Monday that they would not tolerate delays in dismantling Syria's chemical weapons and would press ahead with a strong resolution in the United Nations Security Council to enforce the disarmament plan.
"It is extremely important that there are no evasions," said William Hague, the British foreign secretary, at a joint news conference.
"If Assad fails in time to abide by the terms of this framework, make no mistake, we are all agreed -- and that includes Russia -- that there will be consequences," Mr. Kerry said, referring to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
A major question, however, is whether the United States and its allies are pursuing the short-term goal of dismantling Syria's chemical arsenal at the expense of the ultimate objective of pressing Mr. Assad to relinquish power.
The schedule for eliminating Syria's chemical weapons is very ambitious: all of the country's chemical arms are to be eliminated by middle of 2014. And experts say that meeting such a schedule will depend heavily on the cooperation of the Assad government over the ensuing months.
Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, insisted that there was no contradiction between the disarmament goal and the longer-term diplomatic objective, because removing Mr. Assad's chemical arsenal would weaken his military position and eventually smooth the way for his ouster.
"It will be a weakening of his position," Mr. Fabius said. "He must understand that there is no military victory."
Mr. Kerry made a similar point. "We are taking a weapon away from him that he has been using against his people," said Mr. Kerry, who also acknowledged that the Syrian military's artillery and aircraft had been used indiscriminately against the population.
Mr. Fabius stressed the importance of stepping up support for the Syrian opposition, much of which has expressed a sense of betrayal over the United States decision to hold off on a military strike.
The French minister interjected that much of the public appears to think that the choice in Syria is between Mr. Assad's government and Islamic militants. But he asserted that was false.
To boost the Syrian opposition, Mr. Fabius said that they would be invited to an international meeting in New York would be convened on the margins of the General Assembly next week.
The framework plan was worked out by the United States and Russia on Saturday but now needs to be incorporated into a Security Council resolution.
Under the framework agreement, the terms of the accord are to be included in a resolution under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, which would authorize punitive measures if Syria does not comply. While Russia would almost certainly veto any Security Council endorsement of a military strike, Mr. Kerry has said the United States remains prepared to launch a unilateral strike if Syria fails to meet its commitments.
[Source: By Michael R. Gordon, The New York Times, 16Sep13]
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