The Arab Parliament began preparatory meetings for the second session of 2011 today. The Syrian cause is at the top of the priorities for the parliament's Political Affairs Committee. A diplomatic source inside the Parliament said there are demands to issue a strong call against the Syrian regime. Some parliamentarians suggested freezing Syria's membership and transferring the Parliament's headquarters from Damascus to Cairo. Yet while the demands are vocal, there is also strong objection to hearing them at the session, which will begin Tuesday, by Syrian parliamentarians. The Lebanese, Yemeni and Algerian members support Syria, according to the source. Ali Salem, speaker of the Parliament and a member of Kuwait's delegation to the parliament, criticized the Arab League'' position toward Syria, which he described as “disappointing.” Salem demanded freezing both Syrian and Yemeni membership in the Arab League, as was done with Libya under Muammar Gadhafi recently. Salem described what is happening in Syria as “genocide.” Salem said he hopes that Arab Parliament will meet the demands of its people and punish those who killed innocents. Communications have stopped between the Syrian capital and the Arab League's general secretariat during the last two days. The break came after the Syrian delegate to the Arab League presented a note of protest rejecting the meeting between Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi and a delegation of Syrian opposition. The Arab Parliament, also known as the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union or AIPU, was formed by a group of Arab states in 2001 and gave the Secretary General of the Arab League the power to create the parliament. Each member state sends four representatives to the Parliament.
