Opposition Criticises Sarkozy

The media outlets of several Syrian opposition groups angrily criticised French President Nicolas Sarkozy for inviting Syria’s Bashar al-Assad to Paris, arguing that in doing so he was turning a blind eye to human rights violations in Syria.



Opposition writer Mazen Kamelmaz claimed that Sarkozy "would not spoil" his meeting with Assad by bringing up human rights violations, such as the reports of deaths in a riot at the Saidnaya military prison in Damascus last week.



Writing on the opposition Democratic People's Party website Arraee (“Viewpoints”), Kamelmaz maintained that Syrian activists do not want Sarkozy's support because he is unwilling to challenge Assad on human rights.



Florence Ghuzlan, who is based in France, noted on the opposition Syrian Observatory site on July 12 that Sarkozy has never mentioned Syrian prisoners or human rights in any of his speeches.



In several interviews he gave during his visit to Paris, Assad declared that reform was a domestic concern and rejected international pressure on such issues. He refused to release political prisoners, whom he accused of having contacts outside Syria.



Mamoun al-Homsi, a Syrian democratic activist who has lived in exile in Beirut for the past three years, said in a press conference on July 11 that Assad's visit would prove "a victory for hatred and extremism".



Earlier this month, the opposition group Damascus Declaration detailed human rights concerns in a letter to Sarkozy and asked him to push for change.