Arab League, European Parliament Call for Syrian Government to End Violence

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Monday, October 31, 2011

The Arab League is calling on the Syrian leadership to put a stop to the violence it is inflicting on its citizens.

The League handed Syria a proposal that offered an in-depth plan that demands Syria take its tanks off the streets and begin negotiations with the opposition movement.

The Arab League proposal includes a time frame for compliance between the government and opposition members that would end the unrest in the country.

Arab League Chief Nabil Elarabi told AFP that the proposal was asking Syria to “withdrawal tanks and all military vehicles, to put an immediate end to violence, and reassure its people.”

Arab League leaders now await Syria’s response to the proposal, as Syria is expected to respond today.

In a rare Sunday interview with England’s Sunday Telegraph, Assad promised that he would not leave power the way Gaddafi did and warned of an earthquake and fire that would engulf the Middle East if Western powers were to intervene in his country.

He told the magazine, “Syria is a hub now in this region. It is a fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake.”

Assad asked if the global community wants another Afghanistan and added, “Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria; that is to divide the whole region.”

Assad’s comments came only days after 40 protesters were killed; the highest death toll since April.

Protesters have demanded international protection and have been critical of the Arab League for not acting sooner on behalf of protesters that have targets of government-backed violence.

Seven people were killed in unrest in country just yesterday and according to the United Nations more than 3,000 people have died since the Arab Spring movement swept across the country in mid-March.

The Syrian government is rewriting the constitution of the country, in hopes to quell the protests, however, the situation in the country remains volatile.

On Thursday Oct. 27, members of the European Parliament passed a resolution that condemned both Syria and Egypt for the killing of peaceful protestors.

The resolution also called for the leadership of both countries to insure the protection of Christian communities in their lands and condemned actions that are “inciting inter-confessional conflict.”