- EGYPT
- February 23, 2012
- 4 minutes read
Egyptian Parliament’s Arab Affairs Committee Urges Syria Support
Egyptian People’s Assembly MPs slammed the continued massacres in Syria, questioning the stance of the Egyptian authorities towards the bloody crisis in Syria.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mohamed Beltagy, Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) MP, called for use of the word ‘revolution’ rather than ‘crisis’ in describing Syria’s situation in a report submitted by the People’s Assembly Arab Affairs Committee (AAC).
Dr. Beltagy said that, "The report recommended the freezing of relations with Syria without calling for severing ties completely, and failed to suggest exempting Syrian students from paying tuition fees".
Further, MP Mohamed Al-Saeed Idris, AAC Chairman, condemned Assad’s brutal crimes against the Syrian Revolution, adding that, "The Syrian regime has gone beyond the point of no return, and is inevitably dragging the country into a devastating civil war".
The AAC’s statement called for pressuring the Syrian regime to respond to the people’s demands and engage in dialogue with the opposition. It also urged for an initiative to persuade China, Iran and Russia – who are supporting the Syrian regime – to reconsider their stance.
The statement rejected all forms of foreign military intervention, stressing that it would be a repeat of the Iraqi and Libyan scenarios. "If intervention is necessary, it must be through purely Arab action".
The AAC statement went on: “In support of the Egyptian People’s Assembly decision to break ties with its Syrian counterparts, we will work only with Syrian MPs who have joined the protestors and backed the revolution, offering medical aid and other relief supplies to the Syrians – both in Syria and abroad. Syrians will be welcome for treatment in Egypt’s hospitals; schools will be accessible to Syrians in Egypt; all usual visa restrictions will be waived until further notice. Furthermore, it is important that Egyptian media open their doors to the Syrian revolutionaries”.
In conclusion, the statement welcomed the decision to recall the Egyptian Ambassador in Damascus, describing it as a positive step towards freezing ties with the murderous regime, and expressed hope for a more serious stance such as permanent withdrawal of the ambassador. It also called for the expulsion of Syria’s ambassador to Egypt.
