2 Apr 2012

UN / SYRIA

The President of the United Nations (UN) Security Council for the month of April, United States Ambassador Susan Rice, says that the UN-Arab League Envoy Kofi Annan told the Security Council that Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad agreed to an April 10 deadline to start implementing the proposed peace plan. UNTV

Posted at: April 2, 2012 4:52 pm

Duration: 02:30

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / SYRIA
TRT: 2.30
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 2 APRIL 2012, NEW YORK

SHOTLIST:

FILE - 2011, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters

2 APRIL 2012, NEW YORK

2. Wide shot, President of the Security Council for the month of April, US Ambassador Susan Rice approaches microphone
3. Cutaway, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Susan Rice, President of the Security Council for the month of April and Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"Mr. Annan reported that the Syrian Foreign Minister sent him a letter yesterday in which he said that the Syrian military will begin immediately and by April 10th will complete the cessation of all forward deployment and use of heavy weapons and will complete its withdrawal from population centres." 
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Susan Rice, President of the Security Council for the month of April and Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"As you know we announced our readiness not only to increase our humanitarian assistance, now to 25 million dollars, but also to begin to provide non lethal assistance to the opposition, including in the form of communications equipment, that communications equipment is by its nature and by its definition non lethal."
7. Cutaway, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Susan Rice, President of the Security Council for the month of April and Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"Let's be realistic, now speaking in my national capacity, we have seen over the course of the last many months, promises made and promises broken. We have seen commitments to end the violence followed by massive intensification of violence, so the United States for one will look at these commitments and say yet again that the proof is in the actions not in the words."
9. Cutaway, cameramen
10. Wide shot, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari approaches microphone
11. Cutaway, journalists
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari, Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations:
"Every single act that is not in line with the provisions of Mr. Kofi Annan mission is a violation of this mission. So everybody should bear responsibility including United States claims of supplying communications and other kinds of supply and for those who said it publicly that they would like to send even money and salaries to these armed groups in Syria somebody should put them at the confessionary seat in the Security Council and ask them why they are doing that. This is not only a violation of the Charter, this is not a violation of Mr. Kofi Annan's mission, this is a violation and a declaration of war against the sovereignty of Syria."
13. Cutaway, journalists
14. Wide shot, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari leaves journalists behind

STORYLINE:

The Syrian Government has informed the lead international envoy dealing with the crisis in that country that it will complete the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons from population centres by 10 April, the President of the United Nations Security Council said today.

The Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Kofi Annan, today (2 April) briefed the United Nations Security Council in New York via video-link in a closed-door session, telling the 15-member body that he was informed of Syria's decision in a letter he received yesterday from the country's foreign minister.

Briefing journalists after the closed door meeting, Ambassador Susan Rice of the United States, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for this month, said the letter said that the Syrian military would "begin immediately and by April 10th would complete the cessation of all forward deployment and use of heavy weapons and will complete its withdrawal from population centres".

Speaking in her national capacity Rice reminded journalists that the United States had announced their readiness not only to increase their humanitarian assistance -now to 25 million dollars- but she added, "also to begin to provide non lethal assistance to the opposition, including in the form of communications equipment".

Talking about commitments made in the past months by the Syrian authority Rice said that the United States "will look at these commitments and say yet again that the proof is in the actions not in the words".

Asked for a reaction concerning the United States announcement that it would provide communications equipment to the opposition in Syria, the country's Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari said that "every single act that is not in line with the provisions of Mr. Kofi Annan mission is a violation of this mission".

Kofi Annan was appointed Joint Special Envoy earlier this year to try to resolve the crisis in Syria, where more than 8,000 civilians have been killed since March 2011 when a popular uprising began.

When he was in Damascus last month, Mr. Annan put forward a six-point proposal to end the crisis that seeks to stop the violence and the killing, give access to humanitarian agencies, release detainees, and kick-start an inclusive political dialogue.