Syria Organizes Forum on Role of Media in War
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Syrian capital of Damascus hosted a two-day forum entitled “Media of Resistance against War on Syria” to take a deeper look at the significant role of the Muslim countries’ media in countering hostile plots against the crisis-hit country.
The forum, held in Damascus on December 28, 2013, brought representatives of 37 media institutions from Islamic countries together.
During the two-day gathering, the participants explored avenues for strengthening cooperation among media outlets in Muslim states and members of the Islamic Radio and Television Union in order to cast light on the ongoing developments in Syria.
In an address to the opening session of the forum, secretary general of the Islamic Radio and Television Union, Ali Karimian of Iran, made it clear that the ongoing unrest in Syria rests heavily upon a media campaign waged by foreign media outlets.
He also called for intensified coordination between the Islamic media in order to foil a whole host of foreign plots that have been hatched since the onset of the Syrian crisis in 2011.
And in separate comments in the forum, Syria’s Minister of Information Omran al-Zoubi underlined the need for the mobilized efforts by the Syrian national media outlets and other media from its friendly counties to fight a full-fledged war that has gripped the Arab country since 2011.
Zoubi also stressed that Syria will attend the Geneva 2 peace conference with the wide support it draws from the vast majority of the Syrian people, adding that the upcoming conference is the result of the nation's steadfastness in the way to thwart foreign plots.
"We are going to Geneva 2 because we are working according to the mentality of the victorious to save every drop of blood from being spilled and every stone from being crushed," the Syrian minister said.
Earlier on November 25, 2013, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that the much delayed Geneva 2 Conference on Syria will be held on January 22, 2014.
The conference would bring representatives from Syria's government and elements of the opposition to negotiate an end to the fighting that has raged on since March 2011.
Geneva 2 is the second sequel of Geneva 1 conference held in June 2012 in which international parties laid out a peace plan for Syria that calls for a transitional governing body. It left open the question of whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must leave power.
The final communiqué issued on 30 June 2012, following the meeting of the so-called Action Group for Syria called for an immediate cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government that could include officials serving under President Bashar al-Assad and members of the opposition.
According to UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, about 30 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Brazil, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, would be invited to the day-long conference on January 22 in the Swiss city of Montreux.
