Syrian ambassador not welcome at royal wedding

In the face of a furious outcry over the royal wedding invitation extended to the Syrian ambassador in London, the government appears to have bowed to public pressure and uninvited Sami Khiyami, who will now have to find something else to do with his Friday.
 
Foreign Secretary William Hague apparently decided that Khiyami's presence at the event would be "unacceptable" because of the continuing violent crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Syria, which has left as many as 500 civilians dead.
 
Hague may also have been swayed by the increasing tide of public anger over Khiyami's invitation, which was branded as "bordering on grotesque" by Labour MPs.
 
It caps a bad week for Khiyami, who was summoned to the Foreign Office and given a dressing-down by permanent undersecretary Simon Fraser on Tuesday because of the violence against protesters in his country.
 
Initially the Foreign Office defended the invitation, explaining that ambassadors from all countries that enjoy a normal diplomatic relationship with Britain had been invited. But it had probably been hoping that Khiyami would follow in the footsteps of the crown prince of Bahrain, who politely turned down his invitation because of diplomatic tensions caused by the ongoing unrest in the Gulf kingdom.
 
The Syrian embassy did not respond to questions from The First Post over whether Khiyami had been planning to attend the wedding. Given that he has now told the BBC that he couldn’t understand why the invitation had been withdrawn, it is reasonable to assume that he did intend to show up.
 
The Foreign Office was keen to point out that its decision had the backing of the royal family and said: "Buckingham Palace shares the view of the Foreign Office that it is not considered appropriate for the Syrian Ambassador to attend the wedding."
 
Another high-profile absentee from the celebrations on Friday will be former prime minister Tony Blair, but he seems unfazed by his apparent snub. He told Colombian TV that he was "absolutely not at all" upset about not being invited. He said he thought it was completely sensible for the couple to invite people from different walks of life, rather than politicians, to the event. ·