...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy Kofi Annan
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...if the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
abides by the peace deal.
"We have announced that we will cease operations against the army of the regime on the morning of April 10, and we will respect this pledge if the regime commits to respecting the terms of the (U.N.) plan," Free Syrian Army front man Colonel Kassem Saadeddine said in a statement received by AFP.
He said the FSA reiterated its "total commitment to the plan" which demands the regime withdraw from protest cities on Tuesday with a complete ceasefire set for 48 hours later.
The peace plan appears to be in jeopardy after the regime laid down conditions for a pullout, saying it would only carry out its side of the bargain if rebels first handed over written guarantees to stop fighting.
Rebel army chief Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad countered: "We are committed to the Annan plan... We will present our guarantees and our commitments to the international community, but not to this (Syrian) regime."