FRENCH GOVT TO SEEK PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL FOR STRIKE AGAINST SYRIA

         Paris, 29 Shawwal 1434/4 September 2013 (MINA) – The French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Wednesday that the French government was likely to seek parliamentary approval for a possible military strike against the Syrian regime.

          Fabius told  France info radio that all the necessary conditions for the military intervention had not been fulfilled yet and the government, if it decides so, may ask for the approval of French parliament.

          France is waiting for the US Congress to decide, noted Fabius, adding that France will not act on its own if the US decides not to strike Syria.

         “When all necessary conditions have been fully completed, President Hollande will make a decision and share it with public,” he said. “The French government is likely to seek parliamentary approval. There is no constitutional obligation on this issue.”

          The French parliament will gather today to debate whether the nation should launch strikes against Syria.

          Some 74 percent of the French population believes that the government should ask for the approval of the French parliament before any military strike against the Syrian regime, according to an opinion poll conducted by polling firm CSA. Meanwhile 26 percent of poll participants said that there is no need for such approval.

          Meanwhile, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Sunday that France would not launch an assault on Syria alone and would wait for the United States.

          Valls made the comments to Europe 1, and said “the US Congress is to decide on whether to punish President Bashar al-Assad’s government for a gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians.”

       “France can not go it alone,” Valls said and added “We need a coalition.”

       The minister said the announcement by US President Barack Obama on Saturday that he would seek authorization from lawmakers before any intervention created “a new situation” which meant France would have to wait “for the end of this new phase”.

        French President Francois Hollande had reiterated France’s commitment to punish Damascus regime that used chemical weapons, in a phone call with Obama.

         French President had also said that he respected Obama’s decision to seek Congressional approval for action in Syria, Anadolu Agency reported as monitored by Miraj News Agency (MINA).

        People around the world protests on US military attack on Syrian Government for the alleged chemical weapons use.

Poll: 64 per cent of French reject military intervention in Syria

          Meanwhile, a poll conducted in France has revealed that 64 per cent of respondents reject military intervention in Syria.

          Despite his vocal support for the US-proposed strike against the Assad regime in Damascus, a majority of the French people do not believe that President Francois Hollande will go ahead with it.

          La Parisienne-Aujourd’hui newspaper published the PFA poll in which 58 per cent said that they have doubts about the president’s intention to actually participate in the US strike; 25 per cent fear that such an attack will engulf the whole Middle East in conflict. The poll was conducted following the British parliament’s rejection of government plans for military action against Syria.

          Hollande told Le Monde on Friday that the British parliament’s decision will not influence France, which calls for an “appropriate and firm” move against Damascus. The French president added that he does not support an international intervention aimed at “liberating” Syria or overthrowing Assad, “but I think that a regime that commits such unforgivable crimes against its own people should be stopped”.

         The United States announced that it was preparing for a limited military attack to punish President Bashar al-Assad in response to the brutal chemical weapons attack against civilians which killed more than 1,400 people in Damascus ten days ago. President Barack Obama has since confirmed that he will seek Congressional support for an attack before proceeding.

         Meanwhile, protests erupted outside the White House on Saturday as President Barack Obama was announcing that he plans to seek congressional approval for a strike against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Middle East Monitor reports.

         Hundreds of anti-war activists were chanting: “Hands off Syria now,” which could be heard outside the White House’s Rose Garden. “The conflict’s been going on for, what, almost 2 years now. Estimates are 100,000 Syrian civilians have been killed and all of a sudden the US government has manufactured the excuse of the use of chemical weapons in Syria to use that excuse to intervene in Syria,” said Tristan Brosnan, 25, of Washington. (T/P04/E1).

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)