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UK PARLIAMENT WINS VETO OVER ANY MOVE TO ARM SYRIAN REBELS
July 11, 2013 - 20:59 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Britain's parliament backed a motion on Thursday,
July 11 requiring Prime Minister David Cameron to give it a veto
over any future move to arm Syrian rebels, in a symbolic vote the
government said it would heed, according to Reuters.
Britain says it has not yet taken any decision to arm rebels fighting
to topple President Bashar al-Assad, but its role in helping to lift
a European Union arms embargo on Syria in May fuelled speculation it
was planning to do just that.
The lower house of parliament voted by 114-1 to back a motion requiring
the government to seek its "explicit prior consent" for any future
decision to provide lethal assistance.
Though symbolic, the move is significant as it means Cameron will
find it almost impossible not to give parliament a vote on the issue,
something government sources say would amount to an effective veto
over any decision to supply arms.
Ministers expect the 650-member lower house to vote against sending
arms if the issue arises, said one government source.
Many lawmakers in Cameron's Conservative Party say they are worried
a decision to arm the moderate opposition in Syria would escalate
and widen the conflict and risk weapons falling into the hands of
Islamist extremists.
"The government has discussed the option of arming the rebels. This
would be a major policy change. This debate allows us to mark the
government's card," said John Baron, a Conservative lawmaker who
secured Thursday's vote.
The uprising led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority is increasingly
rallying around Islamist appeals as Assad's forces notch up battlefield
gains against the rebels in a conflict that has killed more than
100,000 people since 2011.
July 11, 2013 - 20:59 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Britain's parliament backed a motion on Thursday,
July 11 requiring Prime Minister David Cameron to give it a veto
over any future move to arm Syrian rebels, in a symbolic vote the
government said it would heed, according to Reuters.
Britain says it has not yet taken any decision to arm rebels fighting
to topple President Bashar al-Assad, but its role in helping to lift
a European Union arms embargo on Syria in May fuelled speculation it
was planning to do just that.
The lower house of parliament voted by 114-1 to back a motion requiring
the government to seek its "explicit prior consent" for any future
decision to provide lethal assistance.
Though symbolic, the move is significant as it means Cameron will
find it almost impossible not to give parliament a vote on the issue,
something government sources say would amount to an effective veto
over any decision to supply arms.
Ministers expect the 650-member lower house to vote against sending
arms if the issue arises, said one government source.
Many lawmakers in Cameron's Conservative Party say they are worried
a decision to arm the moderate opposition in Syria would escalate
and widen the conflict and risk weapons falling into the hands of
Islamist extremists.
"The government has discussed the option of arming the rebels. This
would be a major policy change. This debate allows us to mark the
government's card," said John Baron, a Conservative lawmaker who
secured Thursday's vote.
The uprising led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority is increasingly
rallying around Islamist appeals as Assad's forces notch up battlefield
gains against the rebels in a conflict that has killed more than
100,000 people since 2011.