Syria: Arab League Suspends Syria’s Membership  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
The Arab League slapped Syria on the wrist today for killing more than 3,000 of its citizens by suspending its membership from the pan-Arab group, starting on Wednesday. Netizens react to the League's decision, announced after an emergency meeting held at its headquarters in Cairo. The Arab League is also said to be considering sanctions against Syria's strongman Bashar Al Assad.
CNN's Ben Wedeman notes:
@bencnn: Don't mistake Arab League's suspension of Syria as a vote for freedom. It's a vote against Iran, fear of Iran in a post-US Mideast
Syrian Razan Ghazzawi sees the decision as a step in the right direction for her country's revolutionaries:
@RedRazan: Arab League's decisions will help #Syria revolutionaries a lot, but remember that AL will never do the same for Bahrain
And Iyad El Baghdadi adds:
@iyad_elbaghdadi: Significantly, the #ArabLeague has called upon Syria's army not to obey orders of clamp downs on civilians.
The Arab League's decision also drew a lot of questions. Egyptian Salma Shukrallah asks [ar]:
Iraqi Revolution wonders [ar]:
And the Arab League's position is called to question. Zainab exclaims:
@_TheZee: My point exactly! RT @StayStrongLibya: I know the #AL is useless but I guess this was a good and well deserved move.
Wagers are also being called in. Mauritanian activist Nasser Weddady tweets:
@Weddady: How much are you willing to bet that the Qatar's empty embassy in Damascus will be burned? I say 5 to 1
Meanwhile, Syria is not happy with the move.
Ugaritian reports:
@Ugaritian: #Assad delegate to #ArabLeague threatens Qatar and other Arab countries of an “upcoming storm.” #Syria
Syrian Shakeeb Al Jabri, who monitored Syria TV for reactions on the Arab League vote,writes:
@LeShaque: Caller on Addounia TV: All 23 million Syrians resent the Arab League
He also draws attention to the misinformation being pumped to the Syrians inside the country:
@LeShaque: Headline on Arabic pro-regime Syria Steps website: Syria Suspends its Participation in AL Meetings
Egyptian Mona El Tahawy notes:
@monaeltahawy: Despite my skepticism re Arab League of Dictators’ suspension of Syria, great to see how it's enraged the Bashar followers I follow.
She adds:
@monaeltahawy: Amazing that Syria rep to AL is basically saying we kept shut as rest of you killed ur people & we expect same “support” from you. Insane.
And Syrian The 47th forecasts a huge pro-Assad rally. He tweets:
@The_47th: I'm expecting another massive pro-Assad, anti-everything else in the world protest soon.  Sigh… Dictators never learn.
Also, on Facebook, a call has gone out for the destruction of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which brings together Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The group, which describes Gulf Arabs as “camel urine drinkers”, says:
The Wahhabi nomads of the gulf and Egypt decided today to suspend Syria's membership in the so-called “Arab League”…
Who gave the “camel urine drinkers” the right to decide the fate of Syria…
May be some of you are wondering: “camel urine drinkers”… Yes, a lot of nomads in the gulf and Egypt drink the camel's urine and claim that it is very good for health…
Sure it has very bad effects on their tiny brains…
[…]
The Wahhabi nomads and their allies are our true enemies…
I simply hate them and despise them… They are animals and their states must be wiped out of existence…
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.