Britain revokes Syria's wedding invite

Global politics trumped ceremonial protocol as Britain revokes royal wedding invitation to the Syrian ambassador at last minute.

LONDON // Global politics trumped ceremonial protocol yesterday, as Britain revoked a royal wedding invitation to the Syrian ambassador because of violent attacks on protesters by the regime there.

But critics continued to ask why the guest list had room for despots while former British Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, both from the Labour Party, were left out.

Human rights groups had criticized the decision to invite Syrian Ambassador Sami Khiyami to Prince William and Kate Middleton's nuptials at Westminster Abbey today.

More than 450 people have been killed since last month in the uprising against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime, with 120 dead over the weekend, according to the UN.

The government said ambassadors from all countries with which Britain has "normal diplomatic relations" had been invited to the wedding - some 185 in all - and that an invitation did not condone regimes' behavior.

But the Foreign Office said yesterday that "in the light of this week's attacks against civilians by the Syrian security forces, which we have condemned, the Foreign Secretary has decided that the presence of the Syrian ambassador at the royal wedding would be unacceptable and that he should not attend."

It said Buckingham Palace shared that view.

The Syrian Embassy in London said it was not immediately able to comment.

Britain has been strongly critical of the violence in Syria, and on Wednesday summoned Mr Khiyami to the Foreign Office for a dressing-down.

Other diplomatic omissions from the guest list include the ambassadors of Libya - where Britain is involved in Nato action to back opposition forces fighting Muammar Qaddafi's regime - and Malawi, whose envoy was expelled from London this week in a tit-for-tat diplomatic feud.

Among the royal wedding invitees criticized by rights activists are Swaziland's absolute monarch, King Mswati III; the ambassador of President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe; and Prince Mohamed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.

Protesters were planning a demonstration outside Buckingham Palace yesterday to condemn Saudi Arabia's role in quashing dissent in neighbouring Bahrain.

Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, declined a wedding invitation, saying he did not want the Gulf nation's unrest to tarnish the celebration. Bahrain's rulers have imposed martial law and are backed by a Saudi-led military force to try to quell an uprising that began in February.

Commentators also noted the omission of Mr Blair and Mr Brown. The two Labour ex-premiers were not invited to the wedding, while their Conservative counterparts John Major and Margaret Thatcher were. Mrs Thatcher declined due to poor health.

Palace officials said the decision was not a snub, but a matter or protocol. Mr Brown and Mr Blair are not Knights of the Garter, a ceremonial order of chivalry, while Mr Major and Mrs Thatcher are.

Mr Blair insisted he wasn't offended. During a visit to Colombia, he said the lack of an invitation was "not a problem at all" and wished the prince and his fiancee every happiness, Britain's Press Association news agency reported.

But former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said it was odd that Mr Blair and Mr Brown had not been invited while Syria's ambassador had.

He told the BBC that while the guest list was somewhat constrained by protocol, "in retrospect I think the decision-makers probably would have made some different decisions."

*Associated Press