Support plan for peace

The two massacres that took place in the past week have caused grave concern among the international community about the deteriorating situation in Syria. There is an international consensus that violence there must stop and humanitarian aid must reach those in need.

The Syrian government and the opposition are trading accusations about who was responsible for the carnage. We sincerely hope that the perpetrators will be brought to justice as early as possible.

The Western powers are trying to use the massacres as an excuse for armed intervention so as to force the regime change they have long desired.

However, the Chinese government believes military intervention will make the situation even more complicated and is not in the interests of the majority of Syrian people. It is also against the norms of international law and the spirit of the UN Charter.

Efforts by Kofi Annan to mediate a political solution should be fully respected and supported.

Kofi Annan's six-point plan, which was endorsed by the international community and accepted by the Syrian government, has failed to achieve as much as expected. Now he has proposed the establishment of an international Contact Group on Syria, a new idea to breathe new life into his peace efforts to stop violence in the country.

Annan has warned that the crisis will not implode but explode beyond its borders and cause real problems in the region if a peaceful solution is not arrived at as soon as possible.

At this moment, the Syrian government and the opposition should be well aware that the deteriorating situation is not in the interests of either. The new Contact Group Annan proposed should be established as early as possible and then it should exert its influence as extensively as possible to first realize a ceasefire and then bring the relevant parties to the negotiating table.

China supports Annan's efforts and his new proposal, which will hopefully bring all relevant parties together and thereafter explore new ways to find a political solution to the increasingly worsening crisis.

The Syrian people are suffering, and all efforts should be focused on their safety and interests and in the interests of the future of this country and the Middle East region.

This explains why China opposes unilateral sanctions, which will make the conditions even worse for innocent people in Syria.

Let's give Syria a chance to resolve the crisis by itself and realize national reconciliation.

(China Daily 06/11/2012 page8)