CAIRO: Syrians protesting outside the Arab League building in Cairo were far from content with the decision. The reaction in the Egyptian capital after Syria was suspended from the regional body was positive, but remained on edge throughout the afternoon. A young man from Idlib, a center of opposition in northern Syria, told Bikyamasr.com: “It's a bad decision. It's weak, it's not serious. The Council of the Arab League represents the rulers and not the people. We want a council that represents the Arab peoples.” Another demonstrator said the decision was “too little, too late,” adding that he also wanted the imposition of a no-fly zone and a safe area, along with support for the Free Syrian Army. One prominent Syrian opposition figure told Bikyamasr.com that it was “another black day for the Arab League.” Mamoun Al-Homsy, a former independent member of the Syrian parliament and political prisoner, said that the decision “given the bloodthirsty regime more time,” and that even while the meeting was taking place, Syrian soldiers had killed more innocent people. He accused Iran, Hezbollah and the Iraqi Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr of having “joined in acts of terrorism” in Syria. But, he added, the revolution was a popular one not a sectarian one. “Assad is the one who wants a civil war, a sectarian war. He's pursuing a scorched earth policy.” It's “either I stay, or everyone dies',” he said of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Arab League decision, he said, had “shaken” the Syrian regime but would not be enough to actually change its behavior. The demonstrators were not free of concern about the long arm of the Syrian police state. After one group of demonstrators who had spoken to Bikyamasr.com had left to head home, one of them came back and asked to see the reporter's passport, “to reassure ourselves.” BM
