In his Speech at the meeting of OIC Foreign Ministers Ihsanoglu calls on the Member States to should their historic responsibilities regarding the situation in Syria

The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu stressed that the OIC has not deviated from its firm position on the implications and developments in Syria, which was clearly reflected in all press releases issued by the OIC since the beginning of the crisis and up to now. In his speech at the opening session of the OIC Executive Committee held at the ministerial level at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah on Wednesday, 30 November 2011, he noted that the continued adoption of a security and military approach against civilians who are peacefully demonstrating calling for more democracy and political freedom and economic and social development is a method which proved to be unable to contain the crisis and will only lead to the fall of more innocent victims and complicating the internal position. The OIC Secretary General addressed the participants stressing that, over the past months, the OIC General Secretariat has done all what it could to contribute towards a solution to the crisis, pointing out that it has exhausted all mechanisms and jurisdictions in several attempts to bridge the gap, prevent bloodshed and establish truth until it called for the convening of this meeting. He stressed that the OIC urges its Member States to assume historic responsibilities, demanding a clear position which differentiates between the past and present through implementable recommendations which contribute to finging a solution of compromise to the Syrian crisis within the principles of Islamic solidarity. Ihsanoglu emphasized that in his capacity as OIC Secretary General, he followed a quiet diplomatic approach out of the OIC's commitment to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the Member States since the outbreak of the crisis. He reiterated the position of the Organization which refuses military intervention in the crisis, and adherence to the need of respecting the sovereignty, independence and unity of Syria, as well as the need to stop bloodshed and restoring security and stability, and to follow the path of reform to achieve the hopes and aspirations of the Syrian people. He emphasized his rejection of the internationalization of the Syrian crisis. The Secretary General clarified that in light of the dangerous developments of the crisis in Syria, and with a growing momentum of regional and international interventions and efforts which aim to make the Syrian government stop violence and attacks against civilians, the OIC welcomes the international and regional efforts, including the efforts of the League of Arab Sates in order to contain the crisis in Syria.