UN Security Council to Receive Arab League Plan for Syria - East Idaho News
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UN Security Council to Receive Arab League Plan for Syria

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Getty 071111 SyrianFlagFrenchEmbassy?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1327662861188LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — After nearly a year of unrest, the United Nations Security Council should receive a plan from Arab nations early next week that seeks to resolve the bloody government crackdown that has left at least 5,500 people dead according to U.N. estimates.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and Qatar’s prime minister said Thursday they’ll present their controversial proposal to the Security Council by Monday.

It calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to cede power to one of his two vice presidents so that a transitional government can be set up ahead of national elections.

The Arab League, which sent monitors to Syria earlier this month to check on al-Assad’s adherence to an agreement that would remove soldiers and tanks from cities, believes it needs the muscle of the U.N. to convince al-Assad to step aside.

However, Syria has already rejected the call for foreign intervention and there is little hope that al-Assad will voluntarily end his 11 years of autocratic rule despite condemnation by his neighbors and the West.

The Syrian president has vowed to crush all dissenters calling for reforms.  He claims they’re being riled up by foreign terrorists; such elements were found to be an influence during the so-called “Arab Spring” in Egypt and elsewhere. In Egypt, the terror-linked Muslim Brotherhood managed to get one of its leaders voted in as parliament speaker, and voters swept hard-line Islamists into power.

It remains to be seen if the Security Council would actually pass a resolution demanding that al-Assad give up his rule since permanent member Russia has already said it would veto any plan requesting sanctions or military action against its ally.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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