DAMASCUS, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- An Arab League (AL) monitoring mission to Syria is carrying out its field monitoring amid violence and "terror attacks" in restive Syrian cities. However, their work can not satisfy Syrian government, opposition groups and international community at one time but aroused dispute and accusation among them.
Analysts said the mission could not easily end the violence in Syria, but it may alleviate it, and that it is too early to predict if the unprecedented AL intervention in a fellow Arab state could bring an end to the crisis in Syria.
PRIMARY ASSESSMENT AROUSES ACCUSATION
Earlier, Mohammad Mustafa al-Dabi, head of the observer mission, told the private Addounia TV that the situation in Homs is "placatory till now." His words aroused accusation and unsatisfaction among oppositon groups, which said "this is contrary to the fact," and cast doubts over the evenhandedness of the Arab mission.
Bourhan Ghalyoun, a prominent opposition figure who heads the Turkey-based Syrian National Council, called for an urgent meeting to evaluate the performance of the observers and said that the intermediation of AL spared more time for the Syrian regime.
Among other accusations from the opposition was that the observers turned a blind eye to what they have seen, indicating that at least 28 people were killed in Syria on the first day of the observer mission.
Some opposition figures accused AL members of collaborating with the Syrian government, singling out al-Dabi for criticism on ground of a similar monitoring mission in Darfur, Sudan, which was deemed to be, by the vast majority of the Sudanese, a "play to salvage the regime there."
However, Hassan Abdul-Azim, chairman of the opposing Syrian National Coordination Body, said the Arab observers are coordinating efforts with the body and with other organizations, contrary to the allegations of some opposition parties that observers are only coordinating with the Syrian government.
Qadri Jamil, leader of the newly-formed Popular Will Party, a gathering of communist and leftist activists, told Xinhua in a recent interview that Syria has "successfully avoided falling into the trap set by some parties" by signing the protocol to allow in Arab observers to monitor an end to the government's alleged crackdown on protesters.
The observers, who are currently touring the restive Homs city and meeting its governor, are "important to pinpoint what is happening in the country," he said, while adding the situation is complicated that could have "unpredictable outcome."
"If the observers are neutral, they would help the Syrian people ... Otherwise, they could further complicate the situation," he said.
WESTERN COUNTRIES CALL FOR MORE ACCESS FOR AL
Though western countries acknowledged the progress made by the AL mission with the cooperation of the Syrian government, they can not take breath but urge the government to give more openness.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Thursday, "We've seen a modest prisoner release, but it appears that the most important high-profile political activists have not been released. And we also want to see Syria opened to the press."
"So, unfortunately, violence continuing, the Syrian regime still propagating violence against its own people, but in some places where the monitors have deployed, we see some positive signs, but not enough," she said.
Nuland warned that if the Syrian government did not fulfill all promises to the Arab League, "more action and more pressure are going to be required," citing potential actions at the UN Security Council and increased sanctions.
On the other hand, France said Thursday that the Arab monitors headed to more Syrian protest hubs after accusing brevity of the monitoring visit.
The French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Arab League observers' visit was too brief to well assess the real situation in Syria's protest hub of Homs.
It urged "Observers of the Arab League should be able to promptly return to this martyrdom city (Homs), to move freely and have all the necessary contacts with the people."
Russia urged Damascus to deal positively with the observers and ensure them free movement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that the observers should visit any part of Syria to come out with an independent and objective vision toward events in the country and urged the Syrian opposition to support the task of the observers.
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