LUXEMBOURG, The European Union on Monday banned the sale of
luxury goods and products to Syria
that can have military as well as civilian uses as the U.N. political chief
demanded that the Syrian government stop using heavy weapons and comply with a cease-fire.
B.
Lynn Pascoe told the U.N. Security Council in New York that the cease-fire, which went
into effect on April 12, remains "incomplete" and "human rights
violations are still perpetrated with impunity." He said Syria has also
failed to fully implement international envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace
plan, saying the government's compliance with requirements to release detainees
and allow peaceful demonstrations "are clearly insufficient."
The
EU ban on luxury items appears to take direct aim at some of Syrian President
Bashar Assad's most loyal supporters: the business community and prosperous
merchant classes that are key to propping up the regime. An influential bloc,
the business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges
in Syria.
So
far, the wealthy classes have stuck to the sidelines, but if the economic
squeeze reaches them, it could be a game changer, analysts say.
Assad,
who inherited power in 2000, spent years shifting the country away from the
socialism espoused by his father. In the process, he helped boost a new and
vibrant merchant class that transformed Syria's economic landscape even as
the regime's political trappings remained unchanged.
Emails
purportedly from Assad and his wife Asma, published in February by London's Guardian
newspaper, indicated that the Syrian first lady has a taste for the finer
things in life. The emails, whose authenticity has been questioned, revealed
the first lady shopping online for crystal-encrusted Christian Louboutin
stilettos, expensive jewelry, custom-made furniture and other luxury goods as
violence swept the country.
EU
foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said the EU's 27 foreign ministers
approved the new set of sanctions — the 14th in the past year — "because
of deep concern about the situation and continuing violence in spite of the
cease-fire."
"We
expect the government to withdraw all troops and heavy weapons from towns and
cities (and) we want to make sure that the regime gives full access to
humanitarian organizations."
The
U.N. estimates that more than 9,000 people have been killed since an uprising
against the government of Assad began 13 months ago.
Pascoe,
the U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs, told the Security
Council "we are at a pivotal moment in Syria."
He
said the U.N. hopes the deployment of 300 unarmed U.N. military observers,
which the Security Council authorized on Saturday, "will help to stop the
killing and consolidate the calm" with the aim of creating the conditions
"for a serious and credible political process."
To
create these conditions, Pascoe said, "it is essential that the government
of Syria
fully and immediately implement its obligations to stop using heavy weapons and
to pull back military forces from population centers."
He
said it is also essential that Syria
implement other aspects of the Annan plan, noting "little progress"
on its requirement to allow unimpeded access for aid workers to an estimated 1
million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
He
said Annan, the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy, will brief the Security Council
on Tuesday.
U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters late Monday that it is
"absolutely important" that Syria protect the monitors and
ensure their freedom of access and freedom of movement. There must be "no
such obstacles," he stressed.
Susan
Rice, the U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, again urged the Syrian government "to
seize this chance for a peaceful political solution to the crisis — before it's
too late."
The
U.S.
welcomes "the positive statements from various Syrian opposition figures
and groups" about the expanded U.N. observer mission, she said, "but
we are all sober in our expectations."
"The
Syrian regime should make no mistake: we will be watching its actions day and night,"
Rice said. "We will work to ensure there will be consequences should the
Syrian regime continue to ignore this Council's decisions, press ahead with its
murderous rampage, and flout the will of the international community."
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari strongly criticized
Qatar,
saying its leader didn't believe that the Annan mission would succeed. Ja'afari
accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of
financing "terrorist groups," which the Syrian government blame for
the violence.
Previous
rounds of U.S.
and EU sanctions have done little to stop the bloodshed, although there are
signs the Syrian economy is suffering. International measures against Assad's
regime have depleted its foreign currency reserves by half, French Foreign
Minister Alain Juppe said last week.
EU
experts will work out later precisely which goods will be included in the new
embargo. One of the diplomats said so-called "dual-use" goods can
include anything from vehicles to fertilizers and other chemicals.
