Mehmanparast: Meddling in Syrian Affairs Unacceptable

By Farzaneh Shokri

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast dismissed assertions by Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood accusing Iran of complicity in the killing of Syrian people.
Speaking in a weekly press conference on Tuesday, Mehmanparast said Iran has not interfered in Syria’s internal affairs and considers meddling by other countries as unacceptable. He said in Syria there may be some groups who have demands and it could be good for the government to make reforms.
“But some countries and currents do not want Syria’s internal issues to be resolved. Whenever there is talk of reforms, they seek to disturb the atmosphere and allegations against Iran are also in line with this policy.”
He underlined that Iran wishes the best for Syria and believes that Syria’s backing for the resistance movement has enraged the US, Zionist regime and their supporters and that they are taking revenge on Syria for that.
He regarded Russian and Chinese veto of an anti-Syria resolution in the UN Security Council as a proper move to prevent interference in Syria’s affairs and said countries like Russia and China made a responsible move against the one-sided and politically-motivated stance of western countries.
“As we have said before, the best thing to do in Syria is for the government to introduce reforms and an appropriate atmosphere for dialogue,” Mehmanparast said.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. Damascus says ‘outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups’ are responsible for the unrest, which it says is being orchestrated from abroad.
On Friday, Moscow and Beijing voted against a US-led draft resolution that urged Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to cede power. The veto sparked anger among the supporters of the resolution especially the US.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton accused the two of backing the Syrian government and criticized them for killing the resolution.

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Russia: Assad ‘Committed’ to Ending Unrest

Russia’s foreign minister said after Damascus talks on Tuesday that President Bashar Al-Assad was “fully committed” to ending the unrest in Syria.
Sergei Lavrov said he had had a “very useful” meeting with Assad and that Moscow was eager to work towards a solution based on an Arab League plan that it had previously criticized, AFP reported.
“We (Russia) confirmed our readiness to act for a rapid solution to the crisis based on the plan put forward by the Arab League,” said Lavrov, adding that Syria was also ready see an enlarged Arab League mission in the country, Russian news agencies said. The pan-Arab bloc deployed an observer mission to Syria in December to oversee a plan to end unrest that has now lasted almost 11 months but suspended it late January after the mission’s chief said that the violence had reached a new pitch of intensity.
The 22-nation League has since put forward a plan for Assad to hand his powers to Vice President Faruq Al-Shara and a national unity government to oversee the preparation of democratic elections.
Lavrov said Syria was also pressing ahead with the reform program promised by Assad in a series of speeches last year and would soon announce the timetable for a referendum on a new constitution to replace the current one which enshrines the leading role of his Baath party. At the opening of the talks, Lavrov said he was confident that the Syrian leader knew what he had to do.

By Emad Abshenass Chief Editor

Can History Be Omitted?

A new high school history book for Afghan students is published, funded and sponsored by ‘The US military’s foreign aid arm, the Commander’s Emergency Response Program’ and is supposed to be taught in Afghan schools.
However, the period pertaining to the era following the overthrow of King Mohammad Zahir Shah in 1973 and the establishment of the new Islamic Republic has been omitted.
That means there is no mention of the Soviet invasion, the communist rule, the Mujahidin era, the Taliban militia rule and the U.S. military occupation.
In efforts to promote a single national identity, Afghan leaders deem their own history too controversial. Foreign donors reviewed the books to ensure there was no religious content and that materials were well designed, but they made no suggestions about the omission of recent history.

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Regional Cooperation Urged in Persian Gulf

Political Desk

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said countries of the region should cooperate based on common interests to prevent domineering policies of ultra-regional states.
He made the remark on Tuesday in a meeting with visiting Omani Navy Commander Rear Admiral Abdullah bin Khamis bin Abdullah Al-Raisi, adding that Iran’s policy is to cooperate with the Persian Gulf countries.
Admiral Fadavi pointed to the sensitive political and security situation in Middle East and the Persian Gulf region and reiterated the need for coordination among regional states as their interests are intertwined.
He also said Americans seek to involve some Arab countries in their perilous game and push ahead their evil policies using the rulers of these countries.
The Omani commander, for his part, highlighted good and brotherly relations between Tehran and Muscat and called for expansion of bilateral cooperation. He also said regional countries can move toward securing their common interests through cooperation.
Admiral Al-Raisi, who is heading a military delegation in his visit to Iran, on Monday also visited Iran’s Jamaran destroyer in the Army’s First Navy Base in Bandar Abbas.

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