Arab nations choose Syria rep in summit

The Arab League kicks off on March 26 a two-day summit in Doha where opponents of President Bashar al-Assad will represent Syria for the first time. The Qatari hosts, the most vocal supporters of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, have won the promotion of Syria’s opposition National Coalition to fill the country’s spot. The seat has been empty since the Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011 after Damascus rejected an Arab proposal to end the violence that has since morphed into a civil war in which more than 70,000 people have been killed, according to UN figures. The decision to hand the seat to the opposition has not been without its detractors, with reservations expressed by Iraq, Algeria and Lebanon. “The League has handed Syria’s stolen seat to bandits and thugs,” Syrian official daily Al-Thawra said.


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