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Politics
Japan Calls on Syrian President Assad to Step Down, and Recalls its Ambassador
Friday, August 19, 2011
 Tokyo- (PanOrient News) Following a similar action by the United States, Japan today called on the Syrian president Bashar Al Assad to step down, and recalled its ambassador in Syria back to Tokyo "temporarily for a consultation."
A statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan on the Syrian situation said that "Japan has for some time been calling upon the government of Syria to listen to the wishes of its people and voices of the international community and immediately cease the use of force against civilians, progress toward urgent and practical dialogue with the public – including the opposition – and quickly start fundamental reforms toward democratization."
The statement added is it highly regrettable that despite requests by Japan and many other members of the international community, the wide-scale use of force by Syrian security authorities has continued to cause many deaths and injuries among the general populace. Japan firmly reproaches the Syrian security authorities that have used force against civilians and call for the immediate halting of such activities.
Japan shares the serious concerns of the international community regarding the situation in Syria, and believes Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has already lost the trust of the international community, can no longer legitimately govern the country and should step aside, according to the statement.
The statement noted that "Japan holds great interest in the agreement President Al-Assad made with United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on August 17 to halt military and police operations, carry out reforms of the constitution and other reforms, and accept a United Nations mission to evaluate humanitarian conditions in the country."
In relation to the above, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Syrian Arab Republic Toshiro Suzuki will temporarily be back to Japan for a consultation on the situation in the country, the statement said.
PanOrient News
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