Syrians condemn Arab League sanctions

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar criticized the Arab League's decision to impose sanctions on Syria, saying they will affect all of the people. "These sanctions will, in addition to the Syrian citizen, hurt every Arab citizen that deals with Syria," the Syrian daily as-Safir quoted al-Shaar as saying Monday. "Sanctions, which include the Central Bank, will hurt all citizens because central banks across the world are agents for citizens and not states," al-Shaar said in a report in The Daily Star in Lebanon. On Sunday in Cairo, foreign ministers of the Arab League agreed to impose economic sanctions on Syria in response to the failure of President Bashar Assad to halt violence that has been raging in the country since March. In response to the sanctions, Syria's state news agency SANA reported, thousands of people gathered in Damascus and Aleppo to condemn the Arab League decision and to reject foreign interference in the country's internal affairs. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told France Info radio that time was running out for Assad's regime, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported. "Its days are numbered, and that is obvious. It is totally isolated today … Things are going slowly, unfortunately … but they are advancing since the Arab League, which carries considerable political weight, has just decided on some sanctions, which will isolate the Syrian regime a bit more," Juppe said.