Media statement by Pakatan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur on Wesnesday, 30^th May 2012:

Malaysia should condemn the brutal attacks on civilians in Syria, expel Syrian ambassador and recall Malaysian ambassador to Syria

The Malaysian government especially Foreign Minister Anifah Aman should condemn brutal attacks on civilians in Syria. The non-interference stance by the Malaysian government is not tenable at best and at worst very irresponsible.

Pakatan Rakyat strongly condemns the killing of more than 90 civilians in Syria last Friday of which 32 were children under the age of 10. We further demand that the Syrian government immediately cease the use of heavy weapons in population centers, and call on the Syrian government military and militia to abide completely by Kofi Annan' peace plan.

It has been reported that more than 15000 people consisting of civilians have been killed in Syria while more than 1 million have been displaced, fled their homes and villages since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. After 15 months of violence, we demand the Syrian government to halt violence in all its forms.

With these attacks, the peace plan and the United Nation (UN) cease-fire that went into effect on April 12th are nothing more than history.

Although Syrian government officials deny any military involvement in the massacre, the evidence claimed otherwise. Survivors interviewed by Human Rights Watch claimed that armed men, dressed in military clothes, attacked homes on the outskirts of town and killed entire families.

This is compounded by the findings of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) observers confirming that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential neighborhood. Here lies our suspect with the claims made by the Syrian government that terrorists groups such as Al-Qaida were involved since it is widely known that they are not that well equipped.

In the name of justice, the truth should prevail and those responsible for the atrocities must be held accountable.

Hence, we now urge the Malaysian government to observe Human Rights Watch's call for accountability by referring the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and in unison with other respectable countries, sack the Syrian ambassador and recall our Malaysian ambassador from Syria in protest of this brutal killing of civilians.

Inaction is no longer an option as the longer we wait, more precious innocent lives will be lost.

* Nurul Izzah Anwar, PKR Vice President, Dato Kamarudin Jaffar, Chairman of PAS International Affairs Committee & Liew Chin Tong, DAP International Secretary