THE United Nations-appointed Envoy to Syria, Mr. Kofi Annan, has thrown in the towel following his failure to engender a peace process that would end the 17-month-old crisis in the country.
His “tenure” is expected to end by the end of the month.
According to a report, Annan’s intention not to renew his mandate “when it expires” was announced yesterday by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, in a statement.
Financial Times of London, in an electronic mail yesterday, also hinted that Annan “has spelled out for the first time that a political transition must include the departure of Bashar al-Assad.”
“In an article for the Financial Times, Mr. Annan, whose peace plan for Syria lies in tatters as the violence escalates on the ground, will say that: “It is clear that President Assad must leave office.”
But he also cautions that the greater focus must be on “the measures and structures that will secure a peaceful transition over the long-term, to avoid a chaotic collapse”.
He had visited perceived supporters of the current regime in Syria, including Russia, to even out the division in the UN Security Council, a move that recorded no success.
Annan’s integrity as a UN scribe, who earned the respect of the Arab world in the Israel-Palestinian rivalry, failed to solve the Syrian crisis as he (Annan) faced a “bitterly divided UN Security Council, where Russia and China have blocked attempts by western powers to accelerate the toppling of Assad”.
The former UN scribe has, in recent months, been very economical with words in what is believed to be a careful effort to maintain the support of all sides.
The report said: “His remarks in the FT follow a wave of criticism from the Syrian opposition, which charges that he has been too soft on the regime.
“Mr Annan, however, explains that while ‘transition means a managed but full change of government – a change in who leads Syria and how,’ the burden is on all sides – the regime, the opposition, and their outside supporters - to bring an end to the 19-month crisis, which started as a popular uprising and has evolved into a military conflict.
It continued: “The regime is now using military jets to bomb rebel strongholds in Aleppo, the commercial city that rebels are attempting to capture. On Thursday opposition fighters used tanks captured from the military to shell an airport near Aleppo.
“Mr. Annan says military means alone will not end the crisis and calls on both the supporters of the regime and those of the opposition to act.”
His “tenure” is expected to end by the end of the month.
According to a report, Annan’s intention not to renew his mandate “when it expires” was announced yesterday by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, in a statement.
Financial Times of London, in an electronic mail yesterday, also hinted that Annan “has spelled out for the first time that a political transition must include the departure of Bashar al-Assad.”
“In an article for the Financial Times, Mr. Annan, whose peace plan for Syria lies in tatters as the violence escalates on the ground, will say that: “It is clear that President Assad must leave office.”
But he also cautions that the greater focus must be on “the measures and structures that will secure a peaceful transition over the long-term, to avoid a chaotic collapse”.
He had visited perceived supporters of the current regime in Syria, including Russia, to even out the division in the UN Security Council, a move that recorded no success.
Annan’s integrity as a UN scribe, who earned the respect of the Arab world in the Israel-Palestinian rivalry, failed to solve the Syrian crisis as he (Annan) faced a “bitterly divided UN Security Council, where Russia and China have blocked attempts by western powers to accelerate the toppling of Assad”.
The former UN scribe has, in recent months, been very economical with words in what is believed to be a careful effort to maintain the support of all sides.
The report said: “His remarks in the FT follow a wave of criticism from the Syrian opposition, which charges that he has been too soft on the regime.
“Mr Annan, however, explains that while ‘transition means a managed but full change of government – a change in who leads Syria and how,’ the burden is on all sides – the regime, the opposition, and their outside supporters - to bring an end to the 19-month crisis, which started as a popular uprising and has evolved into a military conflict.
It continued: “The regime is now using military jets to bomb rebel strongholds in Aleppo, the commercial city that rebels are attempting to capture. On Thursday opposition fighters used tanks captured from the military to shell an airport near Aleppo.
“Mr. Annan says military means alone will not end the crisis and calls on both the supporters of the regime and those of the opposition to act.”
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