BICOM

The Arab League has suspended Syria’s membership until President Bashar Assad implements an Arab League deal to end violence against protesters, and called for sanctions and transition talks with the opposition. A statement, read by Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani on Saturday in Cairo, said the League decided “to suspend Syrian delegations’ activities in Arab League meetings” if it continued to stall the Arab plan and to implement “economic and political sanctions against the Syrian government”.

The effect of Syria’s suspension is not yet clear, and neither is the type of sanctions that the Arab League may impose. The organisation’s secretary general, Nabil al-Arabi, said yesterday that he is “studying mechanisms” to protect the Syrian people. The Arab League also called on member states to withdraw their ambassadors.

The Arab League’s move is significant, as European and US policymakers have been struggling to craft a means of stopping the violence in Syria that carries both Russia and China and would not destabilise the region. The freezing of Syrian Membership by the Arab League is also only the third time the 22-state organisation has taken this step in its history, indicating the seriousness with which the Arab League views the situation in Syria.

In response to the announcement of its suspension, Syria yesterday called for an emergency Arab Summit. Also, in Syria, supporters of President Bashar Assad attacked the Saudi Arabian, French and Turkish embassies located in Damascus.

Following the storming of the Turkish consulate, in a clear message to Damascus, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu responded by calling on leaders of the Syrian opposition to meet him in Ankara for talks on Sunday evening. Turkey also sent a plane to evacuate the families of diplomats in Syria and demanded guarantees from Damascus for the safety of its diplomats. Turkey also called on the international community to stop the bloodshed in Syria, a demand that appeared to leave open the possibility of some kind of intervention.

Since March more than 3,500 people have died in anti-government protests in Syria, according to the UN.