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Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Arab League: Syria agreed to terms of peace plan ending 7 months of bloodshed & opening dialogue w/ gov't opponents on ways to move toward democracy
Under the terms of the deal, Syria will withdraw the army from cities and towns, release all political prisoners and permit access to media, human rights groups and Arab monitors, according to a statement issued by the League. “We are happy to have reached this agreement, and we will be even happier when it is implemented immediately,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jasim al-Thani told a news conference after a ministerial meeting in Cairo. It was also unclear whether Syria had agreed to the Arab League’s demand that the negotiations with the opposition should be held in Cairo. President Bashar al-Assad’s government has in the past insisted that any talks should be held in Syria’s capital, Damascus, which his opponents say would put them at risk of detention. Under the plan, the dialogue is to begin in two weeks.