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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syrian National Coalition on brink of collapse

2013-05-29

An increasingly rancourous dispute over control of the opposition alliance has pushed the SNC to the brink of collapse in Istanbul over the past five days. “If we do not solve our internal problems here and now there will be no coalition left to speak of,” an SNC member said. What was supposed to be a brief conference dealing with a host of pressing issues has, instead, become an embarrassing display of internal politicking and inefficiency. It has undermined the already threadbare credibility of the main opposition alliance, both inside Syria and in the eyes of its international backers. An opposition organiser in Damascus said the SNC had missed a chance to make itself relevant, just as the Syrian crisis is dramatically escalating and a strong, united opposition front was needed. “The fighting groups and the activists working inside Syria were demanding to be represented in the coalition but remain excluded,” he said. “Since it was formed the SNC has done nothing tangible on the ground, it is a failure.” Problems within the SNC came to a head in the early hours of yesterday morning A secular grouping, led by veteran dissident Michael Kilo, together with other, smaller blocs, had sought to add 22 seats to the 63-member alliance. The Kilo grouping is a liberal, broadly secular bloc that its supporters say would counter the dominance of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and help reassure the SNC’s international allies that it will safeguard sectarian and ethnic minorities. But, in a 3am vote yesterday, after four days of deadlocked, at times angry, talks, just eight new seats were approved. Six members from Mr Kilo’s bloc, were given places in the SNC - far short of the 25 it had opened the negotiation process with on Thursday. Adding more than 20 seats would have significantly altered the balance of power within the SNC. Broad inclusion of Mr Kilo’s group would have weakened a widely held perception of excessive dominance dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood, one major faction, and a grouping headed by the Qatari-backed SNC secretary general, Mustafa Sabbagh. The SNC has a reputation even in opposition circles, as being controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, with backing of Qatar and, to a lesser extent, Turkey.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syria voices regret over attacks on Danish, Norwegian embassies

2006-02-05

knock me over with a feather Maybe the US statement that the Syrian govt would be held responsible got someone's attention - Denmark is an ally in Iraq and attacks on an embassy can be construed as an act of war. Baby Doc Assad is pushing it very very hard and perhaps the generals don't want to give Rummy a legitimate reason to come calling. The statement strikes me as pro forma: they had to say something, so they said this. Actions speak louder than words: there is no way in a totalitarian state that a group of people can burn a foreign embassy unless Pencilneck wanted it burned. Syria voiced its regret over attacks against the Danish and Norwegian diplomatic missions in Damascus by angry mobs protesting at cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed as a terrorist. Crowds stormed the buildings housing two embassies on Saturday, setting fire to both and pillaging the contents of the first-floor office of the Chilean embassy in one of the buildings. "The foreign ministry expresses its regret over the acts of violence which accompanied the protests yesterday, which caused damage to embassies in Damascus," the ministry said in a statement. "We understand the popular anger over the offences against the prophet but it is unacceptable for law and order to be violated in the country." The ministry's statement echoed comments by the country's top religious leader, grand mufti Sheikh Ahmed Badreddine Hassun. "It is regrettable that certain people have poorly expressed their protest against the publication by European newspapers of images that are offensive to the prophet," he said. Sheikh Hassun, whose comments were carried by state media, accused "elements who do not believe in dialogue who were introduced among the demonstrators" in Damascus. "We are sad about their actions which harms our dialogue with the Danish and Norwegian people," Sheikh Hassun said. And we really, really don't want to be invaded, please. "Hokay, have we said enough? We have? Great, now piss off, infidels." Incensed Muslims have demonstrated against Danes and other Europeans, burned Danish flags and boycotted the country's products. "Extremism and puritanism have taken hold of the Arab street," said one Syrian intellectual, as fresh riots erupted in Lebanon on Sunday. Syrian opposition writer Michael Kilo said the publication of the cartoons, some of which depicted the prophet as a knife-wielding bedouin and wearing a time-bomb turban on his head, stirred deep emotions among Muslims. The most radical Islamists "have monopolized the street under the pretext of defending the prophet," Kilo said. Moderate Islamists and those who support democracy have been "kept away from the scene" by Arab regimes that have clamped down on opposition and free speech, he said. "The Syrian regime forbids meetings between civil society leaders, but allows thousands of people to set fire to the embassy of an innocent country," Kilo added. Like I was saying ... Human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni denounced the "barbaric attacks which have nothing to do with the values of Islam and Syria." Bunni accused security forces of letting troublemakers run wild, while Syrian authorities "mobilize hundreds of agents and police officers to prevent five people from holding a press conference or a political meeting." The US embassy in the Syrian capital closed Sunday, according to an employee, and a French school and French cultural center also shut their doors as a "preventive measure," a source said. However, the French embassy opened, a day after protestors attempted to storm the building but were kept at bay by riot police using tear gas and water cannons. The French being the only friends they have who can stop an invasion, at least for now ... The Chilean embassy, located on the first floor in the same building as the Danish mission, was damaged in Saturday's attack. The fire did not appear to touch the Swedish embassy located on the second floor, nor the Danish embassy on the third. Several dozen demonstrators among what state news agency SANA said was a crowd of several thousand, scaled the facade. Some climbed over the balcony of the Chilean embassy, broke in and threw potted plants, furniture and computers out.

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