[h=3]By JOE LAURIA[/h]UNITED NATIONS—Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem accused regional and international powers of interfering in Syria by supporting terrorists and pursuing what he called "new colonial policies."
Associated PressForeign Minister Walid Moallem takes the stage at the U.N. on Monday.
The foreign minister used the stage at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday to set out the Syrian government's argument that its domestic opponents are foreign-backed terrorists and that other countries are interfering in Syrian affairs "under the pretext of humanitarian intervention."
He called on hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to return home from "inhuman conditions" in camps in countries he said were plotting against Damascus.
Naming Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U.S., Turkey, France and Libya, Mr. Moallem said: "Those states either turn a blind eye to the activities of terrorist groups crossing their borders, or provide active material and logistical support from their territory for armed terrorist groups," he said.
The U.S. said it is providing $45 million in nonlethal aid to unarmed opposition groups to facilitate their communications networks in the cause of documenting human-rights abuses, as well as $130 million in humanitarian aid.
France says it isn't arming rebels. The French representative walked out on Mr. Moallem's speech, according to a spokesman at France's U.N. mission.
[h=3]Displaced in Syria[/h]The United Nations says in official estimates that as many as 1.5 million Syrians have been displaced.
Muzaffar Salman/Associated PressA woman carried her child at a school in the Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus on Sept. 16.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar haven't responded to Syrian charges that they are providing weapons to rebels, but officials have said publicly that the rebels should be armed.
Last week, the Emir of Qatar called in the General Assembly for Arab armies to intervene in Syria to stop the killing, as an Arab army had during the Lebanese civil war of 1975 to 1990. Ironically, that army, asked by the Arab League to intervene, was Syria's.
Mr. Moallem also accused his foreign enemies of fabricating a refugee crisis by intimidating Syrian civilians in border areas to flee the country. "There, they are either accommodated in military training camps, or in what resembles places of detention," he said.
The Syrian government has stepped up calls to reverse the flow of refugees, perhaps fearing their growing numbers could spur international intervention.
Vincent Cochetel, the U.S. representative for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Monday that the agency wasn't aware of military activities in any of the camps or settlements it operates.
"All funds that are provided to UNHCR go to humanitarian needs," he said.
Mr. Cochetel said there are now more than 300,000 refugees across the region.
"We have been doing all we can to keep the refugees comfortable," he aid.
Mr. Moallem asked whether outside interference wasn't a "practical interpretation of the concept of 'creative chaos,' " which he said "contributes to strengthen Western hegemony on Mediterranean countries, and serve the expansionist interests of Israel."
Mr. Moallem also blasted European and U.S. economic sanctions on Syria, asking, "How can imposing sanctions on the banking, health and transport sectors be consistent with caring for the best interest of the Syrians?"
Earlier Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized the Syrian government and expressed frustration that the conflict was worsening.
Mr. Ban, meeting with Mr. Moallem, "raised in the strongest terms the continued killings, massive destruction, human-rights abuses, and aerial and artillery attacks committed by the government," his spokesman said.
Write to Joe Lauria at [email protected]
Associated PressForeign Minister Walid Moallem takes the stage at the U.N. on Monday.
The foreign minister used the stage at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday to set out the Syrian government's argument that its domestic opponents are foreign-backed terrorists and that other countries are interfering in Syrian affairs "under the pretext of humanitarian intervention."
He called on hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to return home from "inhuman conditions" in camps in countries he said were plotting against Damascus.
Naming Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U.S., Turkey, France and Libya, Mr. Moallem said: "Those states either turn a blind eye to the activities of terrorist groups crossing their borders, or provide active material and logistical support from their territory for armed terrorist groups," he said.
The U.S. said it is providing $45 million in nonlethal aid to unarmed opposition groups to facilitate their communications networks in the cause of documenting human-rights abuses, as well as $130 million in humanitarian aid.
France says it isn't arming rebels. The French representative walked out on Mr. Moallem's speech, according to a spokesman at France's U.N. mission.
[h=3]Displaced in Syria[/h]The United Nations says in official estimates that as many as 1.5 million Syrians have been displaced.
Muzaffar Salman/Associated PressA woman carried her child at a school in the Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus on Sept. 16.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar haven't responded to Syrian charges that they are providing weapons to rebels, but officials have said publicly that the rebels should be armed.
Last week, the Emir of Qatar called in the General Assembly for Arab armies to intervene in Syria to stop the killing, as an Arab army had during the Lebanese civil war of 1975 to 1990. Ironically, that army, asked by the Arab League to intervene, was Syria's.
Mr. Moallem also accused his foreign enemies of fabricating a refugee crisis by intimidating Syrian civilians in border areas to flee the country. "There, they are either accommodated in military training camps, or in what resembles places of detention," he said.
The Syrian government has stepped up calls to reverse the flow of refugees, perhaps fearing their growing numbers could spur international intervention.
Vincent Cochetel, the U.S. representative for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Monday that the agency wasn't aware of military activities in any of the camps or settlements it operates.
"All funds that are provided to UNHCR go to humanitarian needs," he said.
Mr. Cochetel said there are now more than 300,000 refugees across the region.
"We have been doing all we can to keep the refugees comfortable," he aid.
Mr. Moallem asked whether outside interference wasn't a "practical interpretation of the concept of 'creative chaos,' " which he said "contributes to strengthen Western hegemony on Mediterranean countries, and serve the expansionist interests of Israel."
Mr. Moallem also blasted European and U.S. economic sanctions on Syria, asking, "How can imposing sanctions on the banking, health and transport sectors be consistent with caring for the best interest of the Syrians?"
Earlier Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized the Syrian government and expressed frustration that the conflict was worsening.
Mr. Ban, meeting with Mr. Moallem, "raised in the strongest terms the continued killings, massive destruction, human-rights abuses, and aerial and artillery attacks committed by the government," his spokesman said.
Write to Joe Lauria at [email protected]