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French lawmakers' trip to Syria sparks criticism at home

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Top French officials on Thursday condemned four lawmakers' trip to Damascus to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, warning of sanctions against the delegation of parliamentarians.

During a visit to Manila, the Philippines, Hollande denounced the group for meeting with Assad, who he said was "a dictator who bombed its own people and who used chemical weapons to destroy human lives."

"I condemn this initiative. I condemn it because French lawmakers have taken it upon themselves to meet with a dictator who is the cause of one of the worst civil wars of recent years," the Socialist leader added.

Hollande, the first European leader to acknowledge Syrian opposition as Damascus's only legitimate power, said he supported sanctions against the four members of the delegation.

While affirming the right of parliamentarians "to move," Prime Minister Manuel Valls condemned the visit "in the strongest possible" terms.

"They did not go to meet just anyone. They went to meet Bashar al-Assad, responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. It is not a question only of a dialogue, it's a move that does not reflect well on them (the lawmakers)," Valls told local media.

Lawmakers from the Socialist ruling party (PS), the conservative UMP main opposition party and the centrist UDI union met Bashar-al Assad on Wednesday in a personal initiative, marking the first visit by French officials since Paris closed its embassy in Syria three years ago.

Speaking to RTL radio, PS chairman Jean-Christophe Cambadelis said his party mate Gerard Bapt risked ejection from the party.

"I have written to Gerard Bapt. I will summon him and take sanctions. It's up to the party's disciplinary committee to determine whether that would involve a possible ejection from the party," he said.

According to Alexandre Giorgini, the French foreign ministry spokesperson, the four lawmakers "carried no official message."

Jacques Myard, a UMP official who went to Syria for talks with al-Assad, said: "Diplomacy doesn't consist in speaking only with friends but with a certain number of dictators (to fix troubles)," he told BFMTV. Endit