LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Britain has formally recognized the newly-formed National Coalition of the Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the 'sole legitimate representative' of the Syrian people, Foreign Secretary William Hague told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Hague said he had received 'important and encouraging' assurances from the Syrian opposition coalition about its 'clear commitment to human rights and international humanitarian law, including the protection of religious communities and unfettered and safe access for humanitarian agencies.'
The Foreign Secretary told the parliament that his government believes that the new Syrian opposition has now become a 'credible' alternative to the Syrian government government headed by President Bashar al-Assad and added that it would be soon invited to appoint a political representative to the UK.
He said the UK would provide the Syrian opposition with £1.6 million worth of communications equipment, including mobile internet hubs and satellite phones. Nevertheless, he noted that National Coalition 'have much to do to win the full support of the Syrian people and co-ordinate opposition efforts more effectively.'
'It is strongly in the interests of Syria, of the wider region and of the United Kingdom that we support them and deny space to extremist groups,' Hague stressed. He added that he expected other European Union nations to recognize the Syrian opposition coalition shortly.
Regarding calls for arming the Syrian rebels, Hague said: 'We will not rule out any option in accordance with international law that might save innocent lives in Syria and prevent the destabilization of a region that remains critical to the security of the United Kingdom and the peace of the whole world.'
'The arms embargo is due to be continued from 1 December as part of the entire package of Syria sanctions. We will keep all these options under review but we have made no decision to change our policy on arms supplies as things stand,' he added.
The development came after Syria's fragmented opposition and rebel groups agreed at an Arab League sponsored meeting in Doha earlier this month to form a broad coalition as proposed by the US and its allies. The opposition coalition has since been calling on European nations to recognize it as Syria's transitional government for enabling it to procure arms.
Subsequently, France became the first European nation to recognize the newly formed coalition of the Syrian opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Later, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, followed suit.
The United States said initially that it 'looks forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad's bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve.' Nevertheless, US President Obama recently stressed that Washington will regard the coalition as a 'government-in-exile' only after getting assurances that it was not hostile to US interests in the region.
Further, the European Union recognized the coalition as 'legitimate representatives' of the Syrian people, but stopped short of recognizing it as the 'sole' representative of the Syrian population. Besides, France has indicated that it plans to press its European partners for relaxing an EU arms embargo on Syria to enable it supply 'defensive arms' to rebel groups.
It is estimated that about 35,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria since the armed rebellion against President Assad's regime began in March 2011. The conflict is now viewed as a civil war by most of the international community.
The ongoing conflict has forced hundreds of thousands of Syrians to seek refuge in neighboring Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. It is now threatening to spill over to neighboring countries and is increasingly becoming sectarian in nature.
Continued efforts by the international community to find a solution to the Syrian crisis have been hampered by a deep divide in the Security Council, with Russia and China backing the Assad regime and the West opposing it.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2012 AFX News
