CAIRO: A group of activists launched a campaign to collect one million signatures demanding the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador to Egypt on Facebook. The campaign, which was mostly initiated by Al-Wasat Party's youth, describes Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's efforts to crush the Syrian uprising as “massacres against peaceful protesters and a crime against humanity and Arab solidarity … for which Al-Assad must be fairly tried.” “We refuse to allow an ambassador of such a criminal regime to remain on Egyptian soil,” the page, which has so far attracted over 2000 members, said. The campaign comes as a reaction to the bloody crackdown by the Syrian regime on peaceful protesters; which intensified since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Power cuts and violent crackdowns in the Sunni-inhabited cities of Hama and Deir Al-Zour and the recent shelling of the Mediterranean port of Latakia were all igniters for such a demand. Mohamed Sobhi, member of Al-Wasat Party and one of the initiators of this campaign, explained to Daily News Egypt that this campaign aims at building pressure on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Syrian Embassy in Egypt. The next step to be taken after the signatures are collected is yet to be decided. “We will most likely stage a peaceful demonstration in front of the Syrian Embassy or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to further build the pressure,” Sobhi said. Al-Wasat Party's interest and concern for Syria had first surfaced last May when the party organized a peaceful protest in front of the Syrian Embassy in solidarity with the Syrian protesters. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have all recalled their ambassadors in Syria following strong condemnation of Syria's latest massacres by the Arab League. Syrian Ambassador to Egypt Youssef Al Ahmad has already left Cairo for Damascus on August 3. However, it remains unclear whether he was going for vacation or succumbed to the pressure of the protests demanding his departure.
