Syrian activists back Annan in efforts to end crisis and attacks on protesters

MEETING IN Istanbul yesterday, the Friends of Syria extended full support to the efforts of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to end the crisis in Syria and castigated the government for failing to halt attacks on rebels and protesters.

The Friends of Syria said that the “window of opportunity . . . is not open-ended” for implementation of the plan, and called on Mr Annan to fix a “timeline” for steps to be taken, including a return to the UN Security Council if the regime does not comply.

The gathering, attended by 82 countries and organisations, recognised the expatriate Syrian National Council (SNC) as “a legitimate representative of all Syrians” but did not characterise the SNC as “the sole representative” of the Syrian people.

The Friends of Syria expressed support for “legitimate measures taken by the . . . population to protect themselves”, but did not authorise the arming of militia groups or the rebel Free Syrian Army.

The gathering called for a halt to the flow of arms to the Syrian government, proposed the tightening of sanctions and called for the provision of humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees and displaced persons as well as access for aid agencies to residents of contested areas.

Russia, Syria’s main source of weapons; Iran, its chief political ally; and China, which rejects external intervention, did not attend the conference.

With the aim of tipping the balance of force on the ground in favour of the rebels, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, which have been supplying arms, are set to establish a multimillion-dollar fund to pay salaries to defectors while the US is providing communications equipment to help regime opponents inside Syria keep in contact with each other and the outside world.

Al-Baath, the daily of the ruling party, accused the Friends of Syria of trying to sabotage Syrian society and state.

On Saturday, Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Madkisi reiterated the government’s acceptance of the Annan plan but said it would not pull troops and armour out of towns and cities until life returned to normal

The Free Syrian Army, speaking for some militias, said it would halt shooting if the army pulled out of urban areas.