Iraq Tells Bashar al-Assad of Syria to Step Down - NYTimes.com

Iraq Tells Bashar al-Assad of Syria to Step Down - NYTimes.com


clipped from article:
“We believe that the Syrian people should have more freedom and have the right to experience democracy,” said the adviser, Ali al-Moussawi. “We are against the one-party rule and the dictatorship that hasn’t allowed for the freedom of expression.”

The statements from Mr. Moussawi mark a significant change for Iraq. When the United States and several of its major allies called in August for Mr. Assad to cede power, the Iraqi government appeared to be more in line with Iran, which has supported Mr. Assad. The same day as the American statement, Mr. Maliki gave a speech warning Arab leaders that Israel would benefit the most from the Arab Spring.

“There is no doubt that there is a country that is waiting for the Arab countries to be ripped and is waiting for internal corrosion,” Mr. Maliki said in that speech. “Zionists and Israel are the first and biggest beneficiaries of this whole process.”

As violence began to spread across Syria in June, Mr. Maliki received a delegation of visiting Syrian businesspeople and government officials, including the foreign minister, to discuss closer economic ties between the two countries. At the time, Mr. Maliki called on Syrians to stick to peaceful protests and rely on the government to enact reforms.

Mr. Moussawi said that the Iraqi government had long wanted Mr. Assad to step down, but he declined to say why the government had not expressed its position publicly until Tuesday. Iraq and Syria have been adversaries in the past, particularly at the height of sectarian conflict here, when many Iraqi leaders, including Mr. Maliki, said the Syrians were allowing foreign fighters and suicide bombers to cross its border into Iraq. [ read more at link]