Syrian opposition coalition leader demands that Assad stop brutality
(28 Feb 2013) SHOTLIST 1. Mid shot Syrian opposition coalition, Mouaz al-Khatib, and US Secretary of State John Kerry at podium 2. Close-up Kerry listening 3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mouaz al-Khatib, Syrian opposition coalition: "I'm saying here and now, Bashar Assad you have to behave for once as a human being. Stop killing and massacring these people, arresting and torturing their children." 4. Mid shot al-Khatib, Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi in briefing 5. Close-up reporter typing on computer 6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mouaz al-Khatib, Syrian opposition coalition: "We have called for several points: one is to commit the regime to create humanitarian corridors that are safe, especially leading to homes that have been under siege for 250 days." 7. Cutaway reporters writing 8. Cutaway cameras 9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mouaz al-Khatib, Syrian opposition coalition: "There is an international tendency not to arm the opposition for different reasons. So I say, if this is what you want, then stop supplying the regime with weapons that are received in the context of old arms agreements." 10. Wide shot media at briefing STORYLINE The leader of the Syrian opposition coalition, Mouaz al-Khatib, delivered a forceful and emotional demand for Syrian President Bashar Assad to stop the brutality of his forces that have in recent days launched scud missile attacks on the city of Aleppo that have been roundly condemned by much of the Western and Arab worlds. "Bashar Assad, for once in your life, behave as a human being," al-Khatib said. "Bashar Assad, you have to make at least one wise decision in your life for the future of your country," he added. Al-Khatib was speaking alongside US Secretary of State John Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi in Rome on Thursday after an international conference on the situation in Syria. Kerry announced that the US would provide the Syrian opposition with an additional 60 million US dollars in assistance and - in a significant policy shift - would for the first time provide non-lethal aid like food and medical supplies directly to rebels battling to oust President Bashar Assad. Several European nations are expected in the coming days to take similar steps in working with the military wing of the opposition in order to ramp up pressure on Assad to step down and pave the way for a democratic transition. The Syrian opposition has been appealing for some time for the international community to boost its support and to provide its military wing with lethal assistance, and while al-Khatib did not mention those requests, he pointedly made no reference to the new assistance that Kerry announced. Instead, he urged outside nations to support the creation of protected humanitarian corridors inside Syria, which the foreign ministers said they had "positively considered" but made no decisions. Kerry and senior officials from the 11 countries most active in calling for Assad to leave said, in a joint statement released by the Italian foreign ministry, that they had agreed in Rome on "the need to change the balance of power on the ground." It said the countries represented "will coordinate their efforts closely so as to best empower the Syrian people and support the Supreme Military Command of the Free Syrian Army in its efforts to help them exercise self-defence." They are expected to make decisions on those items in the near future in line with new guidance from the European Union, which still bars the provision of weapons and ammunition to anyone in Syria. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
