Syria slams sanctions, says gangs behind violence

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press –

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's foreign minister has shown gruesome videos of bloodied and charred corpses during a news conference aimed at bolstering the regime's contention that armed gangs are behind the country's violence.
Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem's televised appearance in Damascus on Monday comes one day after the Arab League approved sweeping sanctions against Syria for its crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising. The U.N. says more than 3,500 people have been killed.
Al-Moallem told reporters that the Arab League and others refuse to believe that there is a foreign conspiracy targeting Syria.
He says he showed the bloody images for the benefit of members of the Arab League who "still deny the presence of these armed gangs."
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's economy minister called newly approved Arab League sanctions "a dangerous precedent" that will harm ordinary people more than the regime, as tens of thousands of government supporters marched in the capital and other cities to protest against the decision.
The Arab League approved on Sunday economic sanctions to pressure the regime to end its deadly suppression of an 8-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad. The crackdown has left more than 3,500 people dead and deepened Syria's international isolation.
Economy Minister Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar, in remarks published Monday in the Syrian pro-government daily Al-Watan, said the sanctions are a "political decision and a dangerous precedent that would eventually have a bad impact on Syrian citizens." Once they take force, he said, "sources of foreign currency would be affected." The comment reflected concern that Arab investment in Syria will fall off and transfers from Syrians living in other Arab will also drop.

The sanctions are among the clearest signs yet of Syria's growing international isolation. Damascus has long boasted of being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism, but Assad has been abandoned by some of his closest allies and now his Arab neighbors.
Still tens of thousands of government supporters flocked to main squares in almost all cities, including the capital Damascus, to denounce the Arab League decision. State-TV quoted people as saying that the sanctions target all segments of the population.
The European Union and the United States already have imposed sanctions, the League has suspended Syria's membership and world leaders increasingly are calling on Assad to go. But as the crisis drags on, the violence appears to be spiraling out of control as attacks by army defectors increase and some protesters take up arms to protect themselves.
Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said the bloc will reconsider the sanctions if Syria carries out an Arab-brokered plan that calls for pulling tanks from the streets and ending violence against civilians. The regime, however, has shown no signs of easing its crackdown, and activist groups said more than 30 people were killed on Sunday alone. The death tolls are impossible to confirm independently because Syria has banned most foreign journalists.
At a news conference in Cairo Sunday, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim said 19 of the League's 22 member nations approved a series of tough sanctions that include cutting off transactions with the Syrian central bank, halting Arab government funding for projects in Syria and freezing government assets. The sanctions take effect immediately.

Iraq and Lebanon — important trading partners for Syria — abstained from the vote, which came after Damascus missed an Arab League deadline to agree to allow hundreds of observers into the country as part of a peace deal Syria agreed to early this month to end the crisis.
Al-Shaar said Syria will work to strengthen its national economy, claiming "it enjoys unparalleled self-sufficiency." He said the regime might focus on its relations with Iraq.
He dismissed claims that the sanctions are directed against the Syrian regime, saying that halting transactions with the central bank would harm Syrian citizens because it will prevent them from doing business freely. He said any punitive measures that might be taken by Syria in response to the Arab sanctions would be discussed later on and at the highest level.

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