Syrian National Coalition member Burhan Ghalioun described the statement issued by the armed brigades refusing to work under the umbrella of the coalition as seeking to “make a blow at the efforts to restore confidence and influence of the Coalition delegation’s meetings in New York.” Ghalioun said “the military factions’ statement has had a significant negative impact on the Coalition delegation’s meetings with eleven countries interested in supporting the Syrian revolution . It was clear that the statement issued wanted to undermine the Coalition delegation’s task at the United Nations , and is a blow to the efforts to restore confidence in the Coalition as a political force able to talk and work on behalf of Syria’s future and lead the desired change from dictatorship to democracy.” He added, “Today we need to double effort to assure the world that in Syria there is a political alternative to the regime of violence, murder and destruction; and that the removal of this regime will not lead directly to conflict and chaos.” He also said, “A large part of the responsibility certainly falls on the leaders of the coalition, who did not improve communication with the battalion and brigade field commanders and involve them in the process of restoring confidence at the international level and also the Syrian level” . The group of 13 fighting battalions announced that they do not recognize any political formations abroad, including the Syrian National Coalition and the interim government. It considered that any political or military entity outside Syrian territory does not represent the Syrian people. Anas Al Abda, a member of the political committee of the the Syrian National Coalition agreed with Burhan Ghalioun saying in a statement to the Media Office of the Coalition, “The timing of the statement issued by the Islamic brigades yesterday was not appropriate at all, and raises signals about the credibility of this statement, especially since it coincides with the visit of a high level delegation of the coalition to the United Nations in order to gain new friends for the Syrian issue.”
(Source : Coalition)