Syria warns against recognition of opposition council

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

Reuters) - Syria threatened on Sunday to retaliate against any country that formally recognizes a recently established opposition National Council seeking international support for the six-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

The formation of the council has been welcomed by Assad's Western critics, including the United States and France, however they have not embraced it diplomatically as they did the Libyan rebels who subsequently overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.

"We will take tough measures against any state which recognizes this illegitimate council," Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told a news conference in Damascus.

Speaking alongside a group of Latin American ministers who visited Syria to show support for Assad, Moualem also dismissed Turkish criticism of Assad's crackdown and said no one should think the West would launch military action against Syria.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/09/us-syria-idUSL5E7L720620111009

[struggle4progress]

1. Anti-Syrian protesters attack Geneva mission

Demonstrators have staged further protests in the Swiss city of Geneva as part of a Europe-wide drive against the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

About 100 people gathered in front of the Syrian mission to the United Nations in Geneva on Sunday in protest against the killing of a Kurdish opposition figure.

On Saturday five men were arrested after forcing their way into the building of the mission, a Geneva police spokesman said. The men have since been released.

Similar incidents were reported from Germany, Austria and Sweden over the weekend ...

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Anti-Syrian_protesters_attack_Geneva_mission.html?cid=31310210

[pampango]

2. Syria Warns Countries Not to Recognize Opposition

Source: New York Times

Syria warned foreign countries on Sunday not to recognize a newly formed opposition group, the Syrian National Council, and threatened to take “strict measures” against any country that does.

Meanwhile, the government’s crackdown on opposition protesters continued, with at least 17 people killed Sunday, activists said.

Mr. Moallem’s comments were the government’s first official statement regarding the Syrian National Council, an umbrella opposition group formed in Istanbul last week. “I am not interested in what they are trying to achieve,” he said. “And we will adopt strict measures against any country that will recognize the illegitimate council.”

The Syrian National Council has not yet been recognized by any countries yet, though there have been reports that its members were seeking international recognition. Bourhan Ghalioun, a prominent opposition leader and member of the council, said he expected the council to be recognized in the coming few weeks.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/world/middleeast/syria-warns-countries-not-to-recognize-opposition.html

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I didn't think the Syrian government was even worrying about the opposition being recognized abroad. I guess when you can't quell demonstrators after 6 months using tanks and security forces, you start to worry about all kinds of things.

[Fool Count]

3. Yeah, sure, why should they worry about it?

What in the world would have given them an idea that it is a possible scenario? Must be just getting paranoid.