The Arab League debated for hours today on whether to suspend Syria’s membership over the bloody crackdown on anti-regime protesters, but deep divisions among the 22 nations suggested the proposal will not pass.
To sideline Syria, at least two-thirds of the countries would have to support suspension. A bloc of six Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, was leading the push for the measure along with recognition of the opposition leadership, the Syrian National Council, said an Arab diplomat.
However, the diplomat said a significant bloc of countries was opposed, including Sudan, Algeria, Lebanon and Yemen, whose leader is also facing a serious uprising.
According to Arab League diplomats, Mideast heavyweight Egypt has not indicated yet which side it is on. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Saudi political scientist Khalid al-Dakhil said a suspension would send a powerful message.
“The Arab League silence was like a green light to the regime to continue killings. It gave a cover for the Syrian regime,” he said.
Still the suspension of an Arab League member is rare.
And although the move would not likely have a direct, tangible impact on Syria, it would constitute a major blow to President Bashar Assad’s embattled regime by stripping Damascus of its Arab support and further deepening its isolation.
The group suspended Libya’s membership earlier this year after Muammar Gaddafi’s violent crackdown on protesters there.
In between sessions, Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said Syria has not heeded Arab League calls for a cease-fire and reiterated demands that Assad end violence, launch a comprehensive national dialogue and work toward an immediate halt to hostilities, which the U.N. says have killed more than 3,000 people since the uprising began in mid-March.
Syria’s ambassador to the Arab League, Youssef Ahmad, held a document he said was shared with the Arab foreign ministers.
Despite the growing international chorus for an end to the crisis, Mr. Assad has shown no sign of easing his campaign to crush the 7-month-old uprising.
On Sunday, security forces opened fire on a funeral for a slain activist in the east. Forces elsewhere arrested at least 44 people in the capital’s suburbs in house-to-house raids and activists said more than 900 people in the central city of Homs had been detained over the past week.
Arab League officials said the meeting was called at the behest of several Gulf countries.
About 2,000 anti-Assad protesters gathered outside the Arab League building on the edge of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the centre of Egypt’s uprising.
“Oh, Bashar, son of a dog, go away, Bashar!” they shouted. “Freedom is on fire. Go away, Bashar.”
