Arab Ministerial Committee Issues Statement

Doha, December 17 (QNA) - The Arab Ministerial Committee on the Syrian Crisis issued, at the close of a meeting held here this evening under the chairmanship of HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, in which it explained that the committee reviewed the different positions of the Syrian government regarding the draft of Arab League protocol and the amendments and inquiries it posed. The meeting was attended by Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al-Arabi and heads of delegation of the Committee's member states. In its statement the Committee noted that it considered the issue of the multi-time limits granted by the Committee to the Syrian government to sign the draft protocol after providing explanations and answers to all the questions it raised, that took more than a month during which the Syrian side resorted to procrastination to abandon its responsibilities in the implementation of commitments, saying such a position confirms that there is no serious will by the Syrian government to sign the Protocol and to adhere to the implementation of the Arab plan terms. The Committee confirmed that "Based on all this, and due to the failure of the Syrian government to fulfill its obligations under the Arab solution plan and its refusal to sign the draft protocol on the date proposed by the Arab Committee according to the draft proposed by the Ministerial Committee on the Syrian side, the statement recommended the resumption of the Arab League extraordinary session at the ministerial level in Cairo on December 21 to consider the consequences of the intransigent Syrian position and take the appropriate decision in this regard. Referring to the current tragic events in Syria, the Arab Committee renewed its condemnation of all acts of repression, violence and abuses committed against civilians Syrians. The Arab Ministerial Committee's statement said the Committee listened to a presentation by the Arab League Secretary General about the latest developments in Syria and the results of communications and consultations he made with the Syrian government in order to sign the draft protocol on the legal status and functions of the Arab League Observer Mission, and the contents of the correspondence exchanged in this respect with the Foreign Minister of the Syrian Republic, most recently a letter date on December 16. The statement said the Arab League Secretary General reviewed the results of his contacts and consultations with factions of the Syrian opposition in implementation of the decision of the Arab League Ministerial Council on last November 12, which called on all factions of the Syrian opposition to meet at the Arab League headquarters to agree on a unified vision for the coming transitional stage in Syria. The Arab Ministerial Committee reviewed with great concern the course of the bloody events taking place in many Syrian cities and neighborhoods including Homs, Idlib and Deir Al-Zor that led to the loss of lives of thousands of Syrian civilians at the hands of the Syrian security organs and its armed elements, the statement said It concluded that the accompanying exacerbation of the pace of sectarian violence caused by the continuing acts of violence and repression by the Syrian government pushed the situation to slide towards serious conditions that threaten security and stability in Syria and the region and threaten of dire consequences on the unity of Syria's land and people.(QNA)