Secretary-General of the Syrian Coalition Abdul Ilah Fahd reiterated that Assad’s departure is still the revolution’s central demand, stressing that no one has the right to give up this demand. He said that waiving this demand means relinquishing the basic rights of the Syrian people as well as ignoring the fact that half a million people have been killed by the Assad regime and thousands are still detained in Assad’s prisons. The demand for Assad’s departure must not be subject to negotiations, he stressed.
Fahd said the talks due to be held in Astana will be focused on the consolidation of the ceasefire agreement and have nothing to do with political negotiations. Talks on the political process will be held in Geneva where the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) is the only body mandated to represent the Syrian people.
Fahd stressed the need for the FSA and rebel groups to unite under the goals and slogans of the revolution and its demands as doing otherwise will not serve the revolution, he added. There should be no goals or agendas but those of the revolution, Fahd stressed, adding that anyone who is outside this framework will not be part of the revolution. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office + Okaz Newspaper)
