qurbejoog
Assad ready to quit power ?
On July 20, 2012 · In News
1:27 pm
..
0
Paris- Russia’s ambassador to France Alexandre Orlov, said on Friday he believed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had accepted he would have to leave power although only in an orderly fashion.
But the Syrian government swiftly denied this.
Orlov said that Assad, facing a surging uprising against his rule, signalled readiness to step down when he accepted a recent international declaration which foresaw a transition towards a more democratic Syria.
“At the Geneva conference, there was a final communique that foresees a transition towards a more democratic system,’’ Orlov said.
“This final communique was accepted by Assad. Assad nominated his representative to lead the negotiations with the opposition for this transition. That means he accepted to leave, but in an orderly way.’’
Syria’s Information Ministry quickly denied this, saying Orlov’s remarks were “completely devoid of truth’’.
Orlov further said his personal opinion Assad would not be able to remain in power.
“I think it will be difficult for him to stay after everything that has happened. But essentially, he has accepted that he will have to leave.’’
Russia on Thursday blocked a Western-backed UN Security Council resolution that would have contained a threat to impose sanctions if Syria did not comply with UN-Arab League Special Envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan.
Moscow has repeatedly said any deal must follow the principles outlined at talks in Geneva on June 30 between Annan and veto-holding members of the Security Council, which Russia until now had said did not specifically require Assad’s exit.
“What Russia is defending is not Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but international order that was created in 1945 around the UN,’’ Orlov said.
“For us it is a matter of principle that goes beyond what is happening in Syria.’’
A senior Western diplomat recommended caution with respect to Orlov’s comments. “We have not heard Assad say he is willing to step down before,’’ the diplomat said.
“But what does he mean? Does he mean now or in two years time. We have to be cautious.’’ (Reuters/NAN)
Hargeisa, Sep 02, 2013 (SDN) -With the re-opening of Egal airport, serving the aspiring country’s ‘capital’, Hargeisa, Somaliland is aiming for new carriers and destinations. Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia that seeks recognition as a sovereign state, expects shortly to launch new routes from its Hargeisa and Berbera airports. On September 1, Ethiopian Airlines…
Mogadishu, Sep 02, 2013 (SDN) -Somali clan leaders say that an Aug. 27 agreement between the government and only a few leaders from the country’s three southern Jubba regions, which aims to resolve the ongoing dispute over who controls the area, creates more problems than it solves. “The agreement, in essence, gives in to the…
Hargeisa, Sep 02, 2013 (SDN) -An Ethiopian Airlines 737 Boeing airplane made history by been the largest airplane to make a landing at the newly opened 2.4 Kilometers of runway at Egal International airport today as the national carrier of Ethiopia added Hargeisa to its growing list of international destinations. Hon Mohamud Hashi Abdi, the…
Hargeisa, Sep.01, 2013 (SDN)-On August 25 of this year Djibouti basket players went to Hargaysa, Somaliland for friendly match. Less than an hour of their arrival, “ Talibanized” police officers were deployed to contain unusual threat as eye witnesses were assuming—many thought de-miners were defusing landmines in nearby or Somaliland terror returnee from Somalia is…
Hargeisa, Aug.31, 2013 (SDN)-Somaliland’s House of Representatives on today confirmed the 9 nominees introduced by President Ahmed Silanyo for different ministries. Each of the nominees presented their working curriculums to the House of Representatives. The nominees were given confidences votes and each of them received more than 45 positive votes in a quorum of 51…
Addis Ababa, Aug.31, 2013 (SDN)-Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Somaliland people, has made Somaliland and its vicinity unsafe haven to terrorist groups and anti-peace elements. This was said by the Ethiopian Ambassador to Somaliland Brigadier General Berhe Tesfay during an interview with waltainfo.com in Addis Ababa where he also said that Ethiopia has sacrificed a…
Mogadishu, Aug.31, 2013 (SDN)-Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has officially announced on Friday that his government will host a national reconciliation conference in Mogadishu next month. “The government will arrange a wide level of reconciliation conference in Mogadishu to end crisis in Jubba region.” the president said during his address to the nation on Friday….
Mogadishu, Aug.31, 2013 (SDN)-Somalia says its relations with China is growing following a week-long official visit by the country’s foreign Minister Fawzia Yusuf as she returned to the capital Mogadishu on Friday. Fawzia, who is also deputy prime minister, said she met with top Chinese officials to discuss ways of strengthening bilateral ties between the…
Mogadishu, Aug.31, 2013 (SDN)-Federal Government of Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Friday his government wants to open talks with Puntland government in northern Somalia. “I am very sorry to hear Puntland’s decision on relations with Federal Government, we all remember that it [Puntland] was a strong base for the current government [Federal Government…
The Red Cross has launched a social media campaign to commemorate people who have gone missing throughout the world in disasters, as well as situations of violence and armed conflict. The British Red Cross is asking people to mark this year’s International Day of the Disappeared (on Friday 30 August 2013) by…
New York, Aug.31, 2013 (SDN)- The question often asked, when Amanda Lindhout disappeared in one of the world’s nastiest war zones, was: Why? Nobody instructed the young journalist to visit Somalia in the middle of a civil war. No editors demanded her coverage; her only steady job when she landed in Mogadishu was a regular…
Erigavo, Aug.30, 2013 (SDN)- Geed Maraar is the centre of the town and the original high street of Erigavo. For almost a century this street has been like this. No new trees. No new buildings. No improvement to the old buildings. The same white chalk-dust that blinds pedestrians during day time still covers Geed Maraar…
Mogadishu, Aug.30, 2013 (SDN)- The short talks by artists and intellectuals at events known as TEDx have been held 7,500 times in more than 150 countries, but there may not be an event more challenging or dangerous as the TEDx talk being held in Mogadishu this Saturday. Then again, there may be no city in…
Mogadishu,Aug.30, 2013 (SDN)- Amnesty International said two decades of conflict have allowed sexual violence to become endemic in Somalia. The human rights group says most victims don’t report the attacks to authorities, fearing stigma Amnesty says rape and sexual violence are a constant threat in Somalia, especially for displaced women and girls. Senior Crisis Adviser…
Minneapolis,Aug.30, 2013 (SDN)- A 23-year-old woman admitted Thursday that she lied to a grand jury investigating the long-running case of young men who left Minnesota to join a terrorist group in Somalia. Saynab Hussein pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to one count of perjury. She admitted that in June 2009 she lied…
Mogadishu, 29 Aug, 2013 (SDN) -Somali journalists are under assault. Not only is the country one of the deadliest places for media workers, the year-old government is weighing a restrictive media law. The European Union, one of the African’s country’s most important supporters, needs to be more forceful in ensuring a free media environment in…
Hargeisa, Aug 29, 2013 (SDN) -Ayan Mahamoud, one of the organisers of Hargeysa’s International Book Fair, has all the girly vulnerability of a factory-tested steel girder. So it was disconcerting when, having called to the stage the western writers attending in the teeth of strict travel warnings, she burst into tears. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just…
ADDIS ABABA – The semi-autonomous Somali state of Jubaland agreed Wednesday to ally itself with the national government in a boost to efforts to unify the war-torn nation. The deal was hailed by Somalia’s internationally backed authorities, who have struggled to extend their reach far beyond the capital Mogadishu. Jubaland, situated in southern Somalia and…
Dadaab, Aug 29, 2013 (SDN) -Somali refugees at the Dadaab camps in northeast Kenya are voting in elections for local leaders this week. The voting is being held as Kenya’s government pushes for the refugees to return to their homeland. More than 160,000 Somali refugees in the refugee camps head to the polls this week…
Addis Ababa, Aug 29, 2013 (SDN) -The top United Nations envoy in Somalia today welcomed the agreement signed between the country’s Federal Government and the Interim Jubba Administration establishing the terms of governance in three southern regions. “This is a significant step towards restoring peace in Somalia, building a strong Federal Somalia and contributing to…