Pres. election in Syria must end crisis: lawyer
Press TV has conducted an interview with Franklin Lamb, international lawyer from Beirut, about Syria’s democratic presidential election and the hope the outcome will re-stabilize the country.
The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: This is not just another election is it? This is not just a vote, this is more important because it is significant in many different areas. Can you please tell us what they may be?
Lamb: I agree with you. It is an opportunity, it’s a major opportunity. It looks like as predicted the al-Assad government will be returned overwhelmingly.
And it’s going to help the government, in this respect; it’s going to quieten some of the critics.
It won’t keep the French and the Americans and the [William] Hague in the UK quiet, but it gives an aura of legitimacy even though there are some defects with holding this election under circumstances of so much of the country not under control of the government.
But still it’s very difficult to argue against an election. And elections aren’t to be held only when circumstances are pretty and comfortable, but rather when the country is having a crisis, as they are having a crisis.
So I think in the short term the government gains. It gains by quieting some of those that say it’s illegitimate, but it’s still facing roughly the same situation on the battlefield and that looks pretty much like a stalemate.
It also faces a big problem as you know a continuing problem with the economy….
In summary, the reason I say that this election is an opportunity… it’s an opportunity for, if you will, the big three – Iran, the Americans and the Russians, to put pressure on their allies and finally end this killing, end this destruction.
You know what’s happened here in Lebanon with the refugees.
And I must say that there was a victory yesterday for the Syrian people when the general security in Lebanon rightfully backed down on their threat that if the Syrians crossed over to vote, they couldn’t come back.
Well, that’s an outrage; that’s totally against every concept of international humanitarian law and there was such a reaction that general security backed down – so that was a good sign.
But it’s got to be used as an opportunity to end this killing and to end this crisis and hopefully it might have that effect.
