Syria
Says Turks,
Saudis &
Qataris
"Declare War,"
US Too, Rice
Says
Non-Lethal
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 2 --
After Kofi
Annan gave a
closed door
briefing
Monday to the
UN Security
Council,
Ambassadors
including
those of
Russia and
China said
that April's
Council
president
Susan Rice of
the US would
give a summary
and statement.
When
Rice emerged
she read from
notes then
took
questions.
Inner City
Press asked if
there had been
a discussion
of Gulf
countries in
the Friends of
Syria
group saying
they will fund
the rebels,
and about the
US provision
of
communications
equipment to
the
opposition,
are there any
safeguards?
Ambassador
Rice
said that "one
delegation"
had raised the
funding of the
rebels issue.
On US aid, she
said it would
be non-lethal.
Moments
later
Inner City
Press asked
Syrian
Ambassador
Bashar
Ja'afari about
this
aid to the
rebels and
opposition. He
quickly
denounced the
meeting in
Istanbul of
the "Enemies
of Syria,"
going on to
call the
funding of
rebels an act
of war.
Inner
City Press
asked again
about the US,
and Ja'afari
denounced this
communications
aid as well.
He was asked
about Turkey's
assistance to
refugees. He
replied that
Turkey is not
an enemy of
Syria, but
Turkey's
government
should have
consulted
Damascus
before hosting
such a meeting
and
should stop
talking about
regime change.
Ja'afari
referred
to Annan as
the UN envoy,
and did not
mention the
Arab League,
which
has called for
a "political
transition"
away from
Assad.
There is a
game, of who
Annan is
representing.
On March 31 a
Security
Council
Ambassador,
one of the
Elected Ten
and not
Permanent
Five, told the
Press on
background
Before
Rice spoke,
Russian
Ambassador
Churkin told
the Press that
it was a "good
meeting" and
that "Kofi
Annan is
working hard."
Chinese
Ambassador Li
Baodong told
the Press that
"we are
studying his
proposal" and
"we will have
a chance to
discuss." Will
that mean a
Security
Council
"output"?
Watch this
site.
From
the UN Mission
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
Was there any
discussion-was
there any
discussion of
the
announcement
by some of the
Friends of
Syria that
they would
begin to pay
salaries to
the Free
Syrian Army or
other rebels?
And can you
also say-the
U.S. offered
to provide
communications
equipment. Can
you specify a
little bit who
would get it,
whether it
could have any
lethal usage,
and what
safeguards are
in place?
Ambassador
Rice: Well,
let me in my
capacity as
president be
clear in
saying, I
think, if I'm
not mistaken,
only one
delegation
raised that
issue. Most
were focused
on the
contents of
the Joint
Special
Envoy's
briefing
today. From
the U.S. point
of view-now
speaking in my
national
capacity-as
you know, we
announced our
readiness not
only to
increase our
humanitarian
assistance now
to $25 million
but also to
begin to
provide
non-lethal
assistance to
the
opposition,
including in
the form of
communications
equipment.
That
communications
equipment is
by its nature
and by its
definition
non-lethal,
and we will
continue to
work with
other partners
in the Friends
of Democratic
Syria, as was
agreed in
Tunis, to
strengthen our
efforts to
support the
effectiveness
and coherence
of the
opposition.
, 
