King Abdullah of Jordan has become the first Arab Leader to take a stand against Syria’s government and asked the president of Syria Mr Assad to step in wake of severe international and national criticism and also in the backdrop of the suspension from the Arab League. On Monday, Syria faced additional sanctions from European Union.

In an interview, King Abdullah told that “I believe, if I were in his shoes, I would step down, If Bashar has the interest of his country, he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life.

Other countries in the region with historically close ties to Syria, notably Turkey and Iran, have warned Mr Assad that he should take steps to satisfy the demands of protesters in the eight-month-old uprising, which has now become a focal point in the Arab revolts that have felled autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya this year.
The Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, speaking at a televised news conference in Damascus told that Arab League suspension was “uncalled for” and they are doing everything they can to establish a peace plan, release political prisoners and call the police off the streets.

According to independent reports, over 3,500 people have died in the clash between police officials and protestors. The Government responded by stating that over 1,100 police officials have died due to the protests.
The foreign minister also the repeat of the military intervention of Libya in Syria is impossible as the consequences of such an action would be catastrophic.

Syria called Sunday for an emergency Arab League summit meeting to discuss the political unrest and invited officials to visit the country before the suspension goes into effect on Wednesday, to oversee the implementation of the Arab peace plan.

King of Jordan asks Syria’s leader to step down

Report by Adhir Roy Chowdury