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Summary Chinas state media says foreign intervention in Syria would not work.
There is still hope that the Syrian crisis can be resolved peacefully through talks, asany armed intervention will only spread turmoil through the region, Chinas official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday aftera Chinese envoy visited Syria.China and Russia infuriated Western and Arab states thismonth by blocking a draft U.N. Security Council resolution thatbacked an Arab plan urging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad toquit amid his governments violent crackdown on oppositionprotests.Stung by the criticism, China has since sent envoys to theregion to seek a diplomatic solution, including Vice ForeignMinister Zhai Jun, who met Assad in Damascus on Saturday andbacked his plans for a referendum and multi-party elections.China believes, as many others do, there is still hope theSyria crisis can be resolved through peaceful dialogue betweenthe opposition and the government, contrary to some Westerncountries argument that time is running out for talks inSyria, Xinhua said in an English-language commentary.Among Syrias assorted opposition groups, some have voiceda willingness to hold dialogue with the Syrian government andalso warned those seeking outside intervention against becominga tool of the West, it added.However, their calls for peaceful inter-Syrian dialoguehave been largely ignored, intentionally or unintentionally, inWestern media reports, which convey the wrong impression thatthere is an overwhelming consensus among different factions ofthe opposition forces that they want foreign intervention intheir country.Assad announced his plan on Wednesday for a referendum on anew constitution on Feb. 26 followed by a multi-party election.The Syrian opposition and the West dismissed it as sham.China and Russia have been Assads most importantinternational defenders during the crackdown which has killedseveral thousand people and divided world powers. The UnitedNations, the United States, Europe, Turkey and Arab powers wantAssad to step down and have condemned the repression.Zhai also met opposition groups while he was in Syria.GEOPOLITICAL CONSIDERATIONSUnderscoring the challenge such peace calls from China face,Syrian security forces fired on a huge protest against Assad inDamascus, opposition activists said, shortly after Zhai hasappealed for a halt to 11 months of violence.Xinhua said foreign intervention in Syria would not work.Previous cases show that blatant external intervention hasprovided few episodes of peace and prosperity, as promised bythe West. Blood is still being shed in Iraq, Somalia andAfghanistan, where foreign forces have intervened and come tohelp.The West was driven less by their self-proclaimed loftygoal of liberalizing the Syrian people than by geopoliticalconsiderations, Xinhua said.Such commentaries by the state-run news agency can beconsidered a reflection of government thinking.Similar pieces over the past few days in the Communist Partymouthpiece the Peoples Daily have likewise warned against armedintervention, forced regime change or sanctions.On Thursday, the Peoples Daily warned that meddling in Syria by foreign powers risked stirring up a hornets nest ofbloodshed and instability in the Middle East which could shockmarkets and derail the weak global economy.
