Low
Syria
Expectations
as Brahimi
&
Westerwelle
Spin & FSA
Shifts HQ from
Turkey
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 24
-- Even before
Lakhdar
Brahimi
briefed the UN
Security
Council about
his three
weeks as envoy
to Syria,
expectation
were low. A
Council member
told Inner
City Press,
"Don't expect
any
breakthroughs."
In fact,
there's been
resistance to
how to
mention Syria
in a draft
Presidential
Statement that
Germany, this
month's
Council
president,
hopes to have
adopted at
another
ceremonial
Council
session on
September 26.
When
Brahimi
emerged to
take six
questions from
the media, he
mostly said,
give me time,
I'm only in
the post six
months. He
quickly agreed
that
the Syrian
National
Council or the
opposition
more generally
might be
closer to
unifying.
But
what impact
would that
have on the
fighting on
the ground
which is
mostly what is
pointed to in
speeches about
Syria?
Inner
City Press,
hand up at the
stakeout,
would have
like to ask or
have
answered what
Brahimi thinks
of the Free
Syrian Army
moving its
headquarters
out of Turkey
and into
Syria. But
this was not
selected.
The last
question
concerned
Iran, by an
Iranian
journalist
with an
Egyptian
newspaper.
German
foreign
minister Guido
Westerwelle,
who had been
expected to
hold a
press
conference
Wednesday at 9
am -- now Evo
Morales of
Bolivia has
that spot --
emerged and
took
questions,
including
these two,
paraphrased:
Q:
You revived a
six point plan
that proved it
was not
implementable,
is
this not
impotence?
Westerwelle:
I
am not
spokesperson
for [Mr.]
Brahimi and I
made this
statement in
my capacity as
German foreign
minister… I
want to
underscore
this
once again,
this is his
work and his
responsibility
and it was
important in
the briefing
what we just
had about
this, I talked
about
the substance
of six point
plan and I
would not give
up the
substance
of the 6 point
plan as long
as we do not
see a better
alternative. I
am frustrated
like you are
about the
situation, but
once again,
what
is the
alternative?
We have to
help the
people,
support the
people,
we have to
work with all
we can and to
do our utmost
to finish the
violence in
Syria. But on
the other hand
it is also
important to
be
wise, that we
do not to run
into a
conflagration
in the whole
region. This
is also
something that
concerns me,
the effects
and
consequences
on some
neighboring
countries and
we all agree
we have
to avoid when
we see this
conflict in
Syria set on
fire one
country
after another.
Q:
Kosovo style?
Westerwelle:
I
don’t have
anything to
add to what I
just said
about this. We
have enough
meetings,
there are many
meetings about
this week and
we
have this
subject and we
will discuss
this subject.
We have
another
meting on
Friday we had
telephone
conference
last Friday
and if you
allow me to
add one point
I think it
would be wise
and necessary
that
the opposition
unites itself
and not only
united against
regime of
Assad but
united on a
common
democratic
pluralistic
platform
because
if we want to
promote this
process of
erosion in the
regime of
Assad,
it is
necessary that
the people who
live in the
country see
that they
have
perspective in
the country
and includes
pluralistic
structures,
this includes
religious and
ethnic
tolerance.
This inclusive
approach, I
advise.
Good
luck with
that. Watch
this site.
, 
