@ www.theotherpress.ca News S Kofi Annan: ‘Syrians want peace already’ By Keating Smith, Contributor he Syrian uprising, which Ts considered part of the wider-spread Arab Spring revolution in the Middle East, has seen some of the most violent attacks on Syria’s civilian population this year. Although many of the world’s top political leaders have their own opinions and strategies on how to end the conflict, no real intervention or peace envoy has come into action from foreign countries or the United Nations. Syria was the main focus of discussion during the Arab League summit, which was held in Baghdad last week. Nine heads of state and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon were among those attending the first Arab League summit Iraq has held in over 22 years. Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad was not invited. Despite the security situation around the summit being heavily fortified in the palace once occupied by Saddam Hussein, two explosions were heard as the meeting started, one being the result of a rocket fired on the nearby Iranian Embassy. According to Al Jazeera, “Arab leaders approved a resolution calling for an end to the Penny axed Cie lara) government's brutal crackdown, for the opposition to unite, and for parties to the conflict to launch a ‘serious national dialogue.” UN Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said the UN-led peace mission into Syria is “going to be tough and difficult but that he has hope” after leaving firm proposals for peace in place for al-Assad. During the summit President al-Assad was in Damascus visiting wounded soldiers in a hospital and said “Syria would spare no effort to ensure the success of an international envoy and Kofi Annan’s peace mission.” He also warned “it would not work without yria crisis tops agenda list in Arab League summit: securing an end to foreign funding and arming of rebels opposing him.” In a meeting between Annan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev two weeks ago, Medvedev told the press that Annan represented the last chance for avoiding a civil war in Syria. He also offered the UN-Arab League envoy Moscow’s full support. This comes as a complete contrast to US President Barack Obama, who stated that the United States is committed to delivering ‘non-lethal’ support and humanitarian aid to the rebel forces in Syria. The decision goaded Russia, resulting in fierce condemnation of the West’s calls on President al-Assad to step down. “Meanwhile, the Syrian Army that devastated the city of Baba Amr continues its brutal shelling of al-Khalidiya and its offensive in Hama Province. The rebels of the Free Syrian Army, who are rapidly running out of arms and ammunition, are being progressively forced to flee into neighboring Turkey and Lebanon,” reports Robert Grenier of Aljazeera. Assad’s Syrian-led army has been targeting the civilian population of Syria in this region and reports confirm over 20 civilians died in clashes last week. Harper’s federal budget cuts pennies and services By Dylan Hackett, News Editor inance Minister Jim Flaherty Preesenes the federal budget report to the House of Commons last Thursday, outlining continuing cuts to health care, the CBC, Elections Canada, and the termination of the Katimavik youth program and the one-cent coin. The cuts were less austere than expected by analysts, but still significant to many struggling and overburdened services. Flaherty defends his budget as fiscally responsible, a view disputed by critics on both the right and left of the political spectrum. “In this budget our government is looking ahead not only over the next few years but also over the next generation. We are taking major steps forward to build on the strong foundation we have laid since 2006,” Flaherty stated. “We are avoiding foreseeable problems while seizing new opportunities in the global economy. The reforms we present today are substantial, responsible, and necessary. They will ensure we are focused on enabling and sustaining Canada’s long-term economic growth.” Newly-minted NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair criticized the budget, especially the major heath care cuts, billed to worth be $31 billion in the 2012-2013 budget year. “The Conservatives ran an entire election campaign without saying a word to Canadians about their plans to cut OAS or health transfers,” Mulcair stated. Critics from the fiscal right, like economists Niels Veldhuis and Charles Lammam, also condemn Flaherty’s budget, claiming the cuts not to be enough and that, “departments and programs ought to be eliminated rather than reduced by a small nominal amount. To that end, government spending needs to be prioritized so that important areas are spared deep cuts while lower priority areas carry a greater burden of the spending reductions.” The budget also contains cuts to federally-mandated environmental assessments (such as oil sand facilities and the Northern Gateway pipeline), which will now only require two years of environmental assessment, causing outcry from environmental groups. “What was also revealed in the budget was the government's clear intent to act in the service of a narrow set of major industrial interests, particularly oil and gas, while ignoring the broader economy and the enduring jobs and healthy communities that innovation could generate. This explains how ina budget full of cuts to core services, including cuts to clean tech research and development, billion-dollar subsidies to the oil and gas industry remain,” criticized the David Suzuki Foundation. The 2012-2013 federal budget is the Harper government’s second budget to be passed without conditions and provisions from opposition.