Washington, Europe Powers Demand Assad Be Held to Account

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - SANA/Handout via REUTERS
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Washington, Europe Powers Demand Assad Be Held to Account

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - SANA/Handout via REUTERS

France, Germany, Britain and the United States marked the 12th anniversary of the Syrian uprising with a joint call to hold the Assad regime responsible for atrocities.

The four countries said they would not normalize relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government nor fund reconstruction in the country "until there is authentic and enduring progress towards a political solution."

Some 500,000 Syrian civilians have been killed since the uprising, and amid widespread suffering and the displacement of millions, another 10,000 died in the massive earthquakes that struck in early February.

"We remain committed to supporting Syrian civil society and ending the human rights violations and abuses the Syrian people have suffered -- from the Assad regime and others -- long before the earthquakes struck," the four countries said in a statement, AFP reported.

"The international community must work together to hold the Assad regime and all perpetrators of abuses, violations, and atrocities accountable," they said.

"The ongoing conflict has created a permissive environment for terrorists and drug traffickers to exploit, further threatening regional stability," they added.



Tunisia Groups Urge Inclusion of Rejected Candidates in Poll

FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
TT

Tunisia Groups Urge Inclusion of Rejected Candidates in Poll

FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo

A petition signed by prominent Tunisians and civil society groups was published on Saturday urging that rejected candidates be allowed to stand in the October 6 presidential election, Agence France Presse reported.

Signed by 26 groups including Legal Agenda, Lawyers Without Borders and the Tunisian Human Rights League, it welcomed an administrative court decision this week to reinstate three candidates who had been disqualified.

They are Imed Daimi, who was an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki, former minister Mondher Zenaidi and opposition party leader Abdellatif Mekki.

The three were among 14 candidates barred by the Tunisian election authority, ISIE, from standing in the election.

If they do take part, they will join former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Ayachi Zammel in challenging incumbent President Kais Saied.

Saturday's petition was also signed by more than 180 civil society figures including Wahid Ferchichi, dean of the public law faculty at Carthage University.

It called the administrative court "the only competent authority to adjudicate disputes related to presidential election candidacies.”

The petition referred to statements by ISIE head Farouk Bouasker, who on Thursday indicated that the authority will soon meet to finalize the list of candidates, "taking into consideration judicial judgements already pronounced.”

This has been interpreted as suggesting the ISIE may reject new candidacies if they are the subject of legal proceedings or have convictions.

The administrative court's rulings on appeals "are enforceable and cannot be contested by any means whatsoever,” the petition said.

It called on the electoral authority to "respect the law and avoid any practice that could undermine the transparency and integrity of the electoral process.”