Turkey, which shares its southern border with Syria, has a hotline to the Syrian capital and its words carry weight with the government there. The calls also come in the wake of a decision by Saudi Arabia – quickly followed by Kuwait and Bahrain – to recall its envoy from Damascus, a rare public show of condemnation by a country whose foreign policy is a byword for low profile and discreet.
Human rights activists monitoring the situation say more than 2,000 people have been killed, many more injured, and tens of thousands rounded up and arrested since the uprising began in March.
As soon as demonstrators went onto the streets to demand greater democracy and freedom of speech, President al-Assad, who in 2000 succeeded his father Hafez – who had seized power in 1970 – ordered police and troops to suppress the protests. He was determined that Syria would not go the way of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt, and does not want to end up on trial like Hosni Mubarak.
Foreign Secretary William Hague joined the chorus of disapproval but again said Britain would not intervene in Syria as it has in Libya, although he said this country is bombing Colonel Gaddafi’s forces to protect protesters and was unable to explain the difference between the two situations.
