Wednesday, August 15, 2012

OIC Suspends Syria’s Membership at Mecca Summit

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) suspended Syria’s membership early on Thursday at a summit of Islamic leaders in Mecca, citing President Bashar al-Assad’s violent suppression of the Syrian revolt. (Reuters)

“The conference decides to suspend the Syrian Arab Republic membership in the OIC and all its subsidiary organs, specialized and affiliated institutions,” the closing statement of the Mecca Summit said. (Reuters, 16 August)

Saudi King Abdullah in a gesture of conciliatory toward Iran, placed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at his side when welcoming other Muslim leaders at the start of the Summit. The noticeable gesture of unity by the king was believed to be part of Saudi’s attempt to find a resolution to the Syrian crisis.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It would have been an even nicer gesture if Iran had voted in favor of the Syrian suspension.

Anonymous said...

As long as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are in, it has no legitimacy what so ever. The two most brutal regimes in the region (making even IRI come across as progressive) should be dealt with first.