Juppe Says U.N. Observers Should Ensure Right to Protest in Syria
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe declared on Friday that the U.N. observer mission in Syria needs to be able to guarantee Syrians the freedom to protest against Bashar Assad's regime.
"We need observers on the ground, but properly equipped observers with helicopters that can ensure the right to protest. It's extremely important. The day this freedom is guaranteed, the regime will not stand," he said.
Juppe was speaking to BFM-TV a day after hosting talks in Paris between 15 foreign ministers and senior envoys from countries opposed to Assad's regime, and his remarks appeared to go further than the U.N. mission's mandate.
The observer team, which will be unarmed but which some have called "a force", was set up to oversee the implementation of U.N. envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan, which foresees a ceasefire and talks, not to overthrow Assad.
"We must give the Annan plan every chance," Juppe said.
"The ceasefire is not being respected but if we manage to deploy on the ground a robust observer force, 500 people for example, then things might swing in the right direction," he continued.
On Thursday, Juppe had spoken of 300 to 400 observers, while the U.N. appears to be planning for a smaller number.
Juppe said that he thought the Russian position was evolving, noting that it had supported the deployment of the monitors, but admitted that a U.N. resolution would be blocked by Moscow if the West and Arab states move too quickly.
Source: Agence France Presse
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