British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Sunday urged the UN to send a “clear message” to the Syrian government by issuing a resolution condemning brutal measures against anti-regime protesters.
“I do believe it is time for the Security Council to make a clear statement of the kind that we’re advocating,” Hague told Sky News.
Human rights groups say more than 1,000 civilians have been killed since an uprising against the 41-year rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March.
Several people were killed on Friday as Syrian government troops clamped down on protestors in the restive town of Jisr al-Shughour near the Turkish border. Some 2,800 residents fled to Turkey.
Hague emphasized there was no chance of an international military intervention to protect civilians, as has happened in Libya. “In the case of Libya there was a clear call from the Arab League for action, and that was a transformative intervention by the Arab League, there is no such call in the case of Syria.”
The resolution should call on Syria “to respond to legitimate grievances, to release prisoners of conscience, to open up access to the Internet and to cooperate with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,” Hague said.
LONDON, June 12 (RIA Novosti)