Opposition: Assad regime “are solely discussing their empty rhetoric about countering terrorism”
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The latest round of indirect political talks in Geneva has ended with the Assad regime and Syria’s opposition swapping insults.
Nasr al-Hariri of the opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee said the “terrorist regime” had refused to discuss political transition during the talks.
He said Bashar al-Assad, who has dismissed any transition in which he leaves power, is a war criminal who must step down in the name of peace:
They are solely discussing their empty rhetoric about countering terrorism….
War crimes and crimes against humanity must not be an option for negotiations. From now, venues must be found for transitional justice to ensure holding the perpetrators accountable.
The head of the regime delegation, UN Ambassador Bashar al-Ja’afari mocked the opposition delegation as “adolescents” who thought they were appearing on a TV talent show such as “Arab Idol” or “The Voice”: “They are tools, they are mercenaries in the hands of their lords, their operators, and it seems they have not received instructions from them, except instructions to continue supporting terrorism and to create havoc in these rounds.”
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura insisted both sides were keen to return for further talks even if he was “not seeing this immediately developing into a peace agreement”.
The indirect talks resumed in late January in the Kazakhstan capital Astana and Geneva, but five sets had yielded no progress with de Mistura still to produce an agenda agreed by both sides.
The opposition-rebel bloc stayed away from discussions in Astana in mid-March, calling for a substantive ceasefire before resuming participation. However, the Assad regime and Russia — despite being one of the powers declaring a nominal truce on December 30 — have continued bombing, while pro-Assad and rebel forces battle throughout Syria.
The UN envoy maintained on Friday, “There are real challenges on the ground, we are seeing them in front of our eyes. But let’s be frank, no one walked out in spite of them.”
TOP PHOTO: Nasr al-Hariri, the lead negotiator of the opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee at Friday’s talks in Geneva (Salvato>
Russia Denounces UN’s War Crimes Inquiry
Russia has denounced any UN inquiry into war crimes in Syria.
Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in an interview with a Swiss newspaper, published on Saturday: “Implementation of the ‘fight against impunity’ may become a major obstacle for the political settlement, while the discussions in Geneva and Astana have a tendency for development. The priority is the national accord among the Syrians.”
In December, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution for a group to collect information about possible war crimes. The first meeting of the team was on March 9 in The Hague.
Gatilov said:
We consider this mechanism illegal. The decision to organize an authority of the kind is outside responsibilities of the UN General Assembly and contradicts with the Charter of that international organization. Prosecutions, criminal proceedings or initiation of criminal investigations are outside competence of the General Assembly.
Pictures: 3rd Set of Forced Removals from al-Wa’er in Homs City
The third set of forced removals of rebels and residents from al-Wa’er in Homs city has begun.
Up to 20,000 of the estimated 50,000 people in al-Wa’er, the last opposition-held district in Homs, will be moved to northern Syria in a capitulation agreement reached earlier this month. About 4,000 people were transferred in the first two sets of removals.
MSF: Chemical Weapons Likely Used in Hama Attack
Médecins Sans Frontières said it is likely that the Assad regime used chemical weapons in an attack on an underground hospital in northern Hama Province last week.
The chlorine attack killed two people, including a doctor operating at a patient, and wounded 13.
See Regime’s “Suspected Chlorine Attack” on Hospital in Syria’s Hama Province
MSF confirmed witness accounts that a bomb dropped from a helicopter hit the entrance of the hospital, supported by the medical organization, in the town of Latamneh last Saturday:
Information collected by the hospital medical staff suggests that chemical weapons were used.
Immediately after the impact, patients and staff reported suffering severe respiratory symptoms and burning of mucous membranes – symptoms consistent with an attack using chemicals.
The strike knocked the hospital out of service for three days, and only the emergency room has been reopened. The death of Dr Ali al-Darwish left the area of almost 120,000 people with only two orthopedic surgeons.
The regime and Russia have been carrying out retaliatory airstrikes for a rebel offensive that gained about 25 towns and villages in northern Hama before pro-Assad forces regained about half of the territory.
Pro-opposition activists said another “gas attack” struck Latamneh earlier this week, with treatment of more victims for breathing problems.
