The implementation of international resolutions calling for bringing about a political transition in Syria is only achievable through the departure of Bashar Assad and the pillars of his regime, said Nasr al-Hariri, head of the delegation of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) to Geneva talks.
In an interview with the New Arab newspaper, Hariri said that a political transition “cannot take place with the presence of a criminal like Bashar al-Assad.” He stressed that “to say that we entered the stage of political transition, the head of the regime and its symbols must step aside in the beginning of the transitional period.”
The Syrian people did not consult with anybody when they rose up against the Assad regime, nor did they wait for instructions when the revolution broke out, Hariri added. “The Syrian people, having made enormous sacrifices, will not accept the survival of Bashar al-Assad. This position must not be understood as political posturing as the Syrian people have a lot of reasons to insist on Assad’s departure,” Hariri added.
Hariri went on to say that it is impossible to establish a new social contract in Syria in the presence of a criminal who is responsible for the death of at least half a million people. He stressed that Assad’s survival will complicate efforts to rebuild state institutions, including the army, security agencies, and services institutions.
In addition to Assad’s departure, there are a set other fundamental principles such as “the restructuring of the armed forces and security apparatuses, the withdrawal of foreign militias, the imposition of arms control and making all weapons in the hand of the state, and the establishment of a democratic civil state based on the rule of law.”
Hariri said that these are the guiding principles of the Syrian opposition and the basis of any possible dialogue with the Cairo and Moscow platforms. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
