Top of the Agenda: Paris Hosts Friends of Syria

Top of the Agenda: Paris Hosts Friends of Syria

Fifty-seven representatives of the so-called Friends of Syria--countries that have imposed sanctions on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad--met in Paris yesterday to discuss ways to maintain financial pressure on the embattled Syrian regime (NYT). The conference comes amid a fragile UN-Arab League-engineered cease-fire between the Syrian military and opposition forces, which both sides claim has been undermined by the other. At the same time, a small team of UN observers is in Syria "setting up operating headquarters" before a total of 250 peacekeepers are deployed to monitor the cease-fire.

Analysis

"And while Syrian troops did stop shooting, they did not pull heavy armor out of cities, as the Annan plan demands. But some whisper that the point of the plan is simply to make it more difficult, once it inevitably fails, for Mr Assad's friends to protect him," notes the Economist.

"What's often lost in the account of crisis given by po-faced humanitarians, with their pictures of dead bodies and tales of indecipherable evil, is how inspiring the revolt originally was for many ordinary Syrians. Virtually all the people I know in Syria have changed their opinions radically in the last year, and their demands have grown bolder and more ambitious," writes James Harkin for ForeignPolicy.com.

"As the violence endures, more men are heading back to Syria to smuggle in medicine and arms, and join the Free Syrian Army. This push to join the rebel cause has created an almost frantic need to get married and bear children among young men who fear they may die in combat," write Sophia Jones and Erin Banco for the Daily Beast.

PACIFIC RIM

Suu Kyi to Travel to Europe

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader and recently elected parliamentary member, Aung San Suu Kyi, is set to travel to the UK and Norway in June (al-Jazeera). The trip will be her first outside Myanmar in twenty-four years.

Myanmar's rapid reforms still must be viewed as small steps in a country where military forces retain considerable power, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick in this Expert Brief.

NORTH KOREA: The Foreign Ministry yesterday rejected a recent agreement with the United States (NYT) to suspend its nuclear weapons program in exchange for food aid. The United States had already suspended the aid following a failed North Korean rocket launch last week, which was condemned by the international community.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA

NATO Ministers Meet over Afghan Funding

The foreign and defense ministers of NATO member states are meeting in Brussels today to discuss a strategy for funding Afghan security forces after NATO troops fully withdraw (BBC) from Afghanistan at the end of 2014. Washington is expected to provide around $3 billion per year, while calling on other countries to contribute up to $1 billion.

This CFR Timeline examines the events that precipitated the U.S. war in Afghanistan as well as the history of the war.

MALDIVES: Former president Mohamed Nasheed, who was ousted by police and military officers in February, called on the international community to support early elections (Guardian), during a visit to Delhi. Both the United States and India have recognized the new administration of Nasheed's successor, President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, while calling for a government of national unity.

MIDDLE EAST

Egypt Panel Upholds Ban on Three Candidates

Egypt's presidential election commission upheld the disqualification of ten presidential candidates (LAT) yesterday, including Omar Suleiman, the spy chief under former president Hosni Mubarak; Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, an ultraconservative Islamist; and Khairat al-Shater of the Muslim Brotherhood.

AFRICA

Sudan, South Sudan in Border Clashes

Sudanese and South Sudanese officials accused each other of escalating an armed conflict along the contested oil-rich border area that divides the countries, while the UN Security Council discussed imposing sanctions (Reuters) to alleviate the mounting crisis.

MALI: Interim President Dioncounda Traore--put in power last week by military coup leaders who overthrew the democratically elected government last month--appointed Cheick Modibo Diarra as Mali's new prime minister (Telegraph). Diarra, a former astrophysicist, was Microsoft's chairman for Africa.

EUROPE

IMF Warns on Euro Crisis

The European economy could suffer an extended downturn if leaders fail to take stronger action to combat the eurozone debt crisis and facilitate growth (WSJ), the International Monetary Fund said yesterday. The world's finance ministers and central bankers are set to convene in Washington this week for semi-annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

SPAIN: The Spanish government and those of other eurozone states are calling for the temporary European Financial Stability Facility to be amended so it can provide direct loans to ailing financial institutions (DerSpiegel), rather than just to governments. Germany has opposed such a move.

The eurozone, once seen as a crowning achievement in the decades-long path of European integration, is buffeted by a sovereign debt crisis of nations whose membership in the currency union has been poorly policed, explains this CFR Backgrounder.

AMERICAS

Secret Service Prostitution Scandal Widens

U.S. investigators indicated that up to twenty-one alleged prostitutes (WaPo) may have been brought by U.S. Secret Service and military personnel back to a hotel in Cartagena, Colombia, ahead of President Barack Obama's visit for an economic summit last week. Eleven Secret Service agents and ten military officers are suspected of misconduct.

ARGENTINA: The Spanish government threatened retaliation (BBC) against Argentina after President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner moved to nationalize Argentina's largest oil firm, YPF, which is majority-owned by a Spanish company. At the same time, credit rating agency Moody's downgraded YPF's debt.

CAMPAIGN 2012

Obama Takes On Oil Speculators

President Barack Obama proposed new measures Tuesday to reduce oil market manipulation, with hopes that stiffer penalties will stave off false price fluctuations. The New York Times notes that the "nationwide average for gas prices is hovering near $4 per gallon--not far from the $5 per gallon that Mr. Obama's political advisers believe could cripple his re-election chances."

GOP front-runner Mitt Romney defended speculators (CNBC), and blamed the Obama administration for cutting back on licenses for drilling for oil on federal lands, offshore drilling, and fracking, as factors in driving up prices.

Economic confidence inched back up last week, according to Gallup, just two points below its four-year high three weeks ago. But confidence is heavily split along party lines, with 63 percent of Democrats saying the economy is getting better, compared with 24 percent of Republicans and 38 percent of independents saying the same thing.

Editor's Note: For more information on the presidential election and foreign policy check out CFR's campaign blog, The Candidates and the World.

Syria: Thousands still fleeing into Turkey

At least 4,300 people have now fled violence in Syria to seek refuge in Turkey, a senior Turkish official says.

A BBC correspondent on the border says the real number of displaced people is probably much higher.

The Syrians have mainly been fleeing the town of Jisr al-Shughour, targeted in a government crackdown.

An eyewitness described a tank attack on a nearby village on Friday morning, in which people were killed and crops destroyed.

Syria's government says its forces went into the town to restore order after the deaths of 120 security personnel.

Clashes throughout the country on Friday led to the deaths of at least 32 people.

Hundreds of people have been killed in a crackdown in recent weeks on anti-government protests, which began in March.

Meanwhile the US White House strongly condemned Syria's "outrageous use of violence" against the protesters and called for an "immediate end" to the violence.

'Not refugees'

The BBC's Owen Bennett Jones, in Guvecci on the Turkish-Syrian border, says the real number of displaced people is probably much higher than official total because many have slipped across the border unnoticed by the Turkish army.

Senior Foreign Ministry official Halit Cevik said Turkey would deal with the crisis as best it could.

"If they are coming, this is a humanitarian issue," he said. "We will do whatever is needed within our means."

He added that while Turkey could cope with the crisis at the moment, it might need international help if things got worse.

But Mr Cevik said that the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, would not be involved.

The Syrians involved were not seeking refuge in Turkey, he said, as their eventual aim was to go back home.

Syria: US condemns 'brutality and violence'

The US has strongly condemned Syria's "outrageous use of violence" against anti-government protesters.

The White House said the government was leading Syria down a "dangerous path" and called for "an immediate end to the brutality and violence".

Activists say at least 32 people were killed in fresh clashes on Friday.

The violence came as government forces moved into the town of Jisr al-Shughour, where it said 120 security personnel had

killed.

Hundreds of civilians have fled north into Turkey to escape the assault.

Assad 'unavailable'

In a statement, White House spokesman Jay Carney repeated calls for the Syrian security forces to exercise restraint.

"The Syrian government is leading Syria on a dangerous path," he said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, described the use of military force as "unacceptable".

A spokesman for Mr Ban said he was "keen to speak to" Syria's president, but that Bashar al-Assad had repeatedly been "unavailable" in recent days.

Syria has prevented foreign journalists, including those from the BBC, from entering the country, making it difficult to independently verify reports from there

In the most serious of Friday's incidents, anti-government activists said about 15 people had died in the northern province of Idlib.

They said most of the deaths were in Maarat al-Numan, where tanks and helicopters are said to have fired on protesters who had taken to the streets after prayers.

State TV and opposition figures said police stations in the town had been attacked by protesters.

Correspondents say it is the first reported use of air power to quell protests in Syria's three-month uprising.

'Mutiny'

Both state media and activists on the ground also reported troops and tanks advancing on Jisr al-Shughour.

Syria: US condemns 'brutality and violence'Unverified amateur video appears to show Syrian soldiers kicking prisoners.Unverified amateur video appears

The US has strongly condemned Syria's "outrageous use of violence" against anti-government protesters.

The White House said the government was leading Syria down a "dangerous path" and called for "an immediate end to the brutality and violence".

Activists say at least 32 people were killed in fresh clashes on Friday.

The violence came as government forces moved into the town of Jisr al-Shughour, where it said 120 security personnel had earlier been killed.

Hundreds of civilians have fled north into Turkey to escape the assault.

Assad 'unavailable'

In a statement, White House spokesman Jay Carney repeated calls for the Syrian security forces to exercise restraint.

Both state media and activists on the ground also reported troops and tanks advancing on Jisr al-Shughour.

Most residents are believed to have abandoned the town.

The government blamed "armed groups" for the deaths of 120 security personnel in Jisr al-Shughour earlier this week, but some reports said the troops were shot after a mutiny.

Syrian TV said troops had reached the outskirts of the town after securing nearby villages, and that they had killed or captured a number of armed men.

Activists said they had blasted the town with tank fire, but the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says there is little indication as to how much resistance the troops are facing in an area whose population has largely fled.

Slaughtered like lambs'

There were reports of large demonstrations against President Assad in many parts of Syria after prayers on Friday.

Security forces are reported to have opened fire in some areas - activists said there were deaths in the coastal town of Latakia, in Deraa in the south, and in a suburb of Damascus.

Friday protests have become a regular event since March, but government efforts to quash them have escalated in recent weeks.

Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have died in the crackdown, mostly unarmed civilians. The government denies this and says about 500 security forces have died.

More than 3,000 Syrians - mostly women and children - have crossed the border into Turkey to escape the violence, many of them from Jisr al-Shughour. An unknown number of people are thought to have fled to other locations within Syria.

"People were not going to sit and be slaughtered like lambs," one refugee in Turkey told Reuters news agency.

Some of those arriving at the temporary camps have serious gunshot injuries - including a Syrian Red Crescent worker who said he was shot in the back as he tried to help the injured in Jisr al-Shughour.

With the unrest showing no sign of abating, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has set up a new camp in Turkey capable of housing up to 5,000 people.

Are you in Syria? Have you travelled from Syria to Turkey to flee the situation there? Send us your comments and experiences.