Tunisia rejects foreign intervention in Syrian crisis

Syrian revolution Tunis – Nabil Zaghdoud A number of Tunisian parties expressed their rejection of “militarization” of the Syrian revolution, stressing their willingness to cooperate with the Syrian National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC), and to provide the best opportunities to ensure achieving the objectives of the people of freedom, dignity, and establishing a national democratic parliamentary multilateral system, as opposed to the existing regime of dictatorship, tyranny, and corruption.
This came following a meeting in Tunis, Saturday, between leaders of four Tunisian parties; Patriotic Democratic Movement (MOUPAD), Patriotic and Democratic Labor Party (PTPD), Arab Democratic Vanguard Party (PAAD), and the People’s Progressive Unionist Movement (MPUP), and Haitham Manaa, Saleh Mohamed, Abdelrazek al-Kheir, Ragaa Nasser, Shokri Muhamid, Mohamed Hijazi from the Syrian NCC.
The meeting, which was a first of its kind, issued a statement signed by all parties, stressing that the two delegations had “lengthy discussions on the situations in Syria and Tunisia under the current circumstances in the context of the Arab Spring.”
The statement called for the adherence to the struggle and resistance in order to protect and promote the national independence, and turning down any foreign military intervention, as well as “protecting peoples’ rights in deciding their fates and futures, working on enhancing the unity of people’s community, and rejecting calls and efforts that harm it on alleged religious, sectarian, or tribal basis.”
It also stressed on “supporting the Arab League initiative and calling on political powers, Arab regimes, and all friendly authorities to support it and work on enabling it to succeed in facing the efforts to internationalize the crisis and attempting to provoke foreign military intervention, which would threaten the lives of Syrians, their unity, and their sovereignty over their national territory.”
Both Syrian and Tunisian delegations emphasized “the cooperation and coordination to achieve the unity of the Syrian political opposition,” as it would be for the best interest of the people’s revolution.
The statement included the Tunisian parties’ announcement of their “full solidarity and absolute support for the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change as it represents a national democratic stance against tyranny and foreign intervention, and a responsible policy committed to achieve the goals of the Syrian revolution.”
Prior to the meeting, a few leaks stated that Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki expressed his country’s rejection of any foreign military intervention in Syria, and the need for Syrian democratic opposition to unite.
Media reports stated that Marzouki met with Haitham Manaa from NCC, late Friday evening, where he denounced the military solution and expressed his full solidarity with the peaceful revolution of democratic change. However, this was not confirmed by official sources.
It is worth mentioning that Tunisia hosted meetings for the Syrian National Transitional Council, last month, which lasted for three days.