Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Araby said no demands have been made by any Arab country to prevent Syria-bound, weapons-laden ships from crossing the Suez Canal.
Araby’s remarks came in response to a question by a reporter for Turkey’s Anadolu news agency who pointed to demands by scores of protesters outside the Arab League in Cairo to deny those ships entry to the canal.
In statements following a meeting with the United Nations and Arab League special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahyimi, Araby said that as long as the countries that own the passing ships are not at war with Egypt, they cannot be denied passage, according to the Constantinople Convention of 1988.
Reports of warships from Iran and China — both allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime — crossing over from the Suez Canal allegedly to reach Syria earlier this year have raised concerns that they might be carrying weapons to support Assad’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests that have rocked the country since March 2011.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm website
