thestar.com iPhone : EU urges Syria’s opposition to unite, Assad to step down

thestar.com iPhone : EU urges Syria’s opposition to unite, Assad to step down

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The bloc also hailed Libya’s declaration of liberation, which formally ended the eight-month civil war against Moammar Gadhafi’s regime.

“The Syrian people must be able to define the future of their country without the fear of repression,” said a statement after a summit of the bloc’s 27 leaders.

Unlike Libya’s National Transitional Council, which brought together most factions fighting Gadhafi’s regime and was quickly recognized by much of the international community, Syria’s opposition still has no clear leadership. Last month, a 140-member Syrian National Council was established in an attempt to unify the fragmented opposition to Assad’s regime.

“The European Council welcomes the efforts of the political opposition to establish a united platform. The creation of the Syrian National Council is a positive step forward,” the statement said.

Still, officials have said the opposition needs more work to become an effective political force and to gain formal recognition as a legal representative of the Syrian people.

The uprising against Assad began in mid-March amid a wave of anti-government protests in the Arab world that toppled autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Assad has reacted with deadly force that the UN estimates has killed more than 3,000 people. [ read more at link ]