Syria's main exiled opposition groups met in Cairo Monday (July 2nd) to try to forge a common vision for a political transition in Syria.
The second day of a two-day meeting was being held behind closed doors and was also attended by the foreign ministers of Turkey, Iraq and Kuwait.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi, who chaired the meeting, urged the Syrian opposition "not to waste this opportunity" and unite. He also called for "a pluralist democratic system that does not discriminate between Syrians".
One of the prominent exiled opposition groups, the Syrian National Council (SNC), said on Sunday that it expected more serious action to emerge from Saturday's talks in Geneva, which included members of the United Nations Security Council.
SNC spokesperson Basma Qadmani told AFP in Ankara there were some "positive elements" of the deal that emerged on Saturday, although "important elements remain too ambiguous […] and the plan is too vague to foresee real and immediate action".
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Syrian army continued to bombard opposition neighbourhoods in the city of Homs, as violence killed at least 30 people across the country.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia called on the international community to take "decisive measures to stop... the mass slaughter" of the Syrian people.
Assad's regime "must immediately end the massacres and fully implement the... (UN) plan aimed at reaching a political solution in line with the aspirations of the Syrian people," said a statement issued after a weekly cabinet meeting chaired by King Abdullah.
Also on Monday, President Bashar Assad issued three "counter-terrorism" laws, which dictate that "those who create or direct terrorist groups may be sentenced with 10 to 20 years of hard labour, but the punishment may be more severe if the goal is to change the regime or the structure of the state".
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محيسن خلف
2012-7-14
If the army had financial support and weapons, the situation would be so different now and the international situation would be also different, but this army has very limited resources so its operations became street battles and in the alleys and due to this army limited resources, it cannot perform big and sensitive operations inside Syrian cities and cannot protect the unarmed demonstrators, instead they have to take refuge among the demonstrators and in the alleys and that is what gives the motivation for Bashar soldiers to shoot however they want and kill innocent protesters by all means and weapons which they own.
ابو موسى
2012-7-14
The Arab League has to put an end to all what is going on in Syria and to rush to extend a helping hand and assistance for this defenseless people and to help refugees to show magnanimity and regain their dignity as Arab League which considered with the Arab affairs of Arab States.
محمود عادل
2012-7-13
People are dying every day as they feel bitter about what is happening in Syria while Governments do not move a finger. We ask the Arab countries and their lazy governments to stand by Syria and in particular the Syrian people. They should not help the dictator. They have to strip him of his legitimacy. They have to provide support to the Syrian people and protect them from this oppressive dictator. The Arab stance is a real shame. It is a disgrace to any Arab citizen. How could our Syrian brothers be killed while our Governments and their armies remain silent despite such despicable acts? Is it a kind of hypocrisy to the USA and an attempt to protect their interest in the Middle East and to protect the Israeli mastermind from any change in Syria which would lead to political pressure on the Zionist state, or is it an attempt to thwart the Syrian Revolution so that revolutions would appear like a harmful pest and thus would not spread to other Arab peoples who are ruled by tyrants and wrongdoers? The latter rule for long years and refuse to leave power to others. Governments are governed by interests. There is nothing left for Arab countries but to pray for Syria to get rid of the traitor Bashar al-Assad. May God protect Syria and its people from any evil.
زيد الصقر
2012-7-13
It is really a wonder that others do not have the features of unity or try to create it among themselves. We are the land of Arabs; we are united by the same language, traditions and morals. We refuse to take advantage of these ties for our benefit and to start unity. Many problems and crises witnessed by Arab countries can be solved and even eradicated if we know the real meaning of unity. Arabs’ existence date back to the birth of humanity and despite this, achieving unity is a chimera.
عمر
2012-7-13
We all rely on the Lord of the universe and we do not remain idle. Our silence, our defeatism and our waiting for the day when another Saladin who will regain the rights of the oppressed will show up is futile. God has never asked us to do so. He asked us to rely on him, defend the right whatever the time and place are. Those who ask us to remain silent and be content with all the oppressors have done to calm things down in the country are stupid. Stability can never be built on oppression, corruption, cowardice, fear of an unjust person or an oppressor who thought himself to be too strong. Here stability is no more than a word uttered by the cowards to defend their cowardice and justify it before the people and before their weak souls. People like this and their like deserve humiliation and whatever happens to them.
عبدالرب امين
2012-7-5
I ask God to protect me from the cruelty in the hearts of the people, which became like rocks or even worse, because water can break the rocks over time. However, there are hearts that cannot be broken by anything or pain. Only God can deter those accursed people. The belief in the justice of Allah represents the water that makes the hearts cool and relieve them from aggression, which is everywhere in Syria at the hands of those who are supposed to be its protectors. No matter how the victory comes later, it will come because this is the promise of God and he is the Just. This is the time for our unity as Arab peoples, not as governments, because the latter seek to achieve their own interests. We should be united to free ourselves from the aggression of the corrupt and inhumane people.
صديق فلاح
2012-7-4
Many soldiers in the regular army of Al-Asad withdrew their support and this made him worried all the time. The Syrian people are about to see the light and eliminate the regime of al-Asad, especially after the deployment of the Free Syrian Army all over Syria and their confrontation with the regular army and forcing them to retreat in many areas after suffering many losses due to the heavy strikes that they received. This caused worry to the Syrian regime and we ask God to provide the people of Syria with patience and to cure their wounded people and have mercy upon their martyrs. We also ask God to provide their families with patience and fortitude and to have mercy upon them, as He is over everything competent. O God! Take revenge upon Bashar and his supporters and make the earth sink beneath them. Amen O lord of the world.
خليل نوري
2012-7-4
The Syrian regime shells the Syrians randomly and kills them. It also aims at carrying out genocide. Even the mosques were not safe from the random shelling, which shows the extent of the tyranny of the Syrian regime, which cares about nothing but remaining in power. It is ready to annihilate the people to remain on top of the regime. There are many states which have an interest in helping the Syrian regime to survive; otherwise, we would have seen a different stance in the Security Council. On the other hand, some states oppose the regime publicly, but secretly they support it and they just try to distance themselves from the consequences of the deterioration of the situation. Hence, such states try to appear to the world that they against what is happening in Syria. Al-Asad cannot commit all these crimes without support and coordination with the major powers, which use him to be a tool for suppressing his people and to stay despite everything.
متين كامل
2012-7-4
The Syrian regime defied all parties and proved that it is excellent at torturing its people and suppressing them barbarically. Every day, dozens of people die and suffer from wounds, even in the presence of the international forces and observers in Syria. The Syrian regime targeted the foreign journalists in Syria and I do not know when the Syrian army, which is supposed to protect the people from any aggression, will listen to the voice of the reason and stop killing its people in this horrible way. The Syrian regime used all its security forces and armed them with all kinds of heavy and light arms as if it is about to enter into a war with unknown enemy. It is very sorrowful to see the regime against its people. The Syrian regime carried out many assassinations that targeted all people including the doctors who take care of the wounded people. The Syrian regime carried out fake bombings that killed many innocent individuals opposed to the crimes of the regime and the Syrian regime used all the methods of torture against the Syrian people.