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"India is deeply concerned with the present situation in Syria that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and security forces personnel over the last eleven months," said Vinay Kumar, the Acting Permanent Representative of India at the United Nations.
"The problem in Syria being primarily political in nature, India has, from the beginning of the protests, called for a peaceful and inclusive political process to address the grievances of all sections of Syrian society," Kumar said addressing a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
"We strongly condemn all violence, irrespective of whoever the perpetrators are. We also condemn all violations of human rights. India holds the rights of expression and peaceful assembly among the fundamental values that should be respected, while ensuring stability and security of the society," he said.
Kumar noted that India was firmly of the view that a political process for resolution of the present crisis should be led by the Syrians themselves, New Delhi believes that the main role of the international community is to facilitate engagement of the Syrian Government with all sections of Syrian society for an inclusive political process, taking into account the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians while ensuring respect for the country`s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, he said.
Asserting that the leadership of Syria is a matter for the Syrian people to decide, the Indian diplomat said the League of Arab States, as an important regional organisation, should play its required and historic role in promoting political dialogue among the Syrian parties.
"In this context, we welcomed the deployment of the League`s Observer Mission across several areas in the country which had a calming effect on the level of violence and provided a more accurate picture of developments," Kumar said.
"We have also been supportive of the efforts by the Arab League for a peaceful resolution of the crisis through a Syrian-led inclusive political process," he said.
"We support the League`s call for serious political dialogue between the Syrian government and the whole spectrum of the opposition under the auspices of the League of Arab States. We believe that the leadership of Syria is a matter for the Syrian people to decide," he added.
