Media Laud Assad's Efforts at Arab Forum

As Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last week relinquished the rotating chairmanship of the Arab League summit to the emir of Qatar, national media praised his achievements during his year as chair.



“Assad did his best to achieve Arabic solidarity,” said a March 30 article by editor-in-chief Waddah Abd Rabbo in the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan.



That solidarity was on display at the summit in Qatar, wrote Asad Abboud, editor-in-chief of official newspaper Al-Thawra.



“The atmosphere was very conciliatory, which is a tone that was set by Syria,” he argued. “The summit should be seen as a real victory for Arabs.”



Rabbo and Abboud’s statements contradict much of the international press coverage of the Doha summit. The event, which began on March 30, ended a day ahead of schedule and leaders from Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and Oman were noticeably absent.



Syria’s ties with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have been strained by differences over how to deal with the Israel offensive in Gaza, as well as by Iran’s increasing regional influence.



The leaders who attended the summit also faced global condemnation for strongly backing Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who is facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, ICC.



At the event, Assad derided the ICC warrant as a clear attempt to divide and control Sudan.



While Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa promised to work with the African Union to “suspend and reverse” the warrant, no detailed plan of action was proposed in Doha.