الرئيسية
CANBERRA, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday urged greater diplomatic
pressure to force Syria's government to negotiate with the
opposition but said it was against the use of foreign military
intervention.
Secretary General of the 57-member organisation, Ekmeleddin
Ihsanolu, told an audience in Canberra that military
intervention would only harm the Syrian people, citing conflicts
in Iraq, Libya and Somalia.
"All these military interventions worsened the position
rather than solved the conflict," he said.
International powers, along with the OIC and the Arab
League, plan to meet in Tunis on Feb. 24 as part of a
newly-created "Friends of Syria Group" to look for a way to
peacefully end the conflict in Syria.
"This will throw increasing pressure on the government to
talk to the opposition. We need to work out a blueprint for the
future transformation of power," he said.
The head of Egypt's influential seat of Sunni Islamic
learning, al-Azhar, on Tuesday called for bold Arab action
against the Syrian government, raising regional pressure on
President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the minority Alawite
sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, that has dominated Syria for
five decades.
(Reporting by Maggie Lu YueYang, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday urged greater diplomatic
pressure to force Syria's government to negotiate with the
opposition but said it was against the use of foreign military
intervention.
Secretary General of the 57-member organisation, Ekmeleddin
Ihsanolu, told an audience in Canberra that military
intervention would only harm the Syrian people, citing conflicts
in Iraq, Libya and Somalia.
"All these military interventions worsened the position
rather than solved the conflict," he said.
International powers, along with the OIC and the Arab
League, plan to meet in Tunis on Feb. 24 as part of a
newly-created "Friends of Syria Group" to look for a way to
peacefully end the conflict in Syria.
"This will throw increasing pressure on the government to
talk to the opposition. We need to work out a blueprint for the
future transformation of power," he said.
The head of Egypt's influential seat of Sunni Islamic
learning, al-Azhar, on Tuesday called for bold Arab action
against the Syrian government, raising regional pressure on
President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the minority Alawite
sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, that has dominated Syria for
five decades.
(Reporting by Maggie Lu YueYang, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)