Mohammed Qaddah, vice president of the Syrian Coalition, said that the Assad regime’s barbaric bombing of civilians belies his willingness to seriously negotiate a political solution to the conflict. “While the Assad regime announced it was willing to participate in “preliminary consultations” in Moscow aimed at restarting talks next year, its air force dropped dozens of barrel bombs on rural Dara’a, killing and injuring dozens of civilians, including children. The international community’s utter silence on Assad’s industrial crimes undermines all chances of reaching a political solution, but it will not be able to dishearten the Syrian people to give up to pressure and accept any initiatives that do not lead to the achievement of the goals of the Syrian revolution. The hesitant and wavering attitudes of the international community has been seen by Assad as a green light to go on with his brutal military campaign against the Syrian people,” Qaddah said. “These genocidal crimes once again raise the need for the imposition of a no-fly zone and to establish safe protected havens along Syria’s northern and southern borders as wells through providing practical support for the Free Syrian Army to defeat the Assad regime’s terrorism and the extremist of ISIS. Ironically, the Assad regime’s escalation of indiscriminate attacks on civilians coincides with a flurry of activity aimed at reviving peace talks, namely Russia’s preparations for hosting a consultative meeting for the opposition factions and the UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura’s “freeze” plan in Aleppo.” Moreover, Qaddah said that “while dozens of regional and international parties continue to give unlimited support to the Assad regime, the international community has so far failed to support the Syrian people’s demands for freedom and democracy.” He also said yesterday that the talks held in Cairo between the Syrian Coalition and other opposition blocs were centered on preliminary suggestions that can be adopted only after the approval of Political Committee and the General Assembly of the Syrian Coalition. “Our openness to dialogue with other opposition blocs was never the initiative of a particular country, but a decision made by the Political Committee two months ago out of our belief in the need for cooperation and pulling together towards achieving the goals of the revolution,” Qaddah said. The propositions and suggestions made during the Cairo meeting, which, along with the Syrian Coalition, was attended by a number of opposition blocs, most notably the national Coordination Commission, included six basic principles: Consensus that the Geneva I declaration and the UN Security Council resolutions on Syria are the basis for a political solution to the conflict, international and regional consensus is essential for the success of any future negotiations with the Assad regime, the adoption of the statement of principles for a political solution presented by the Syrian Coalition during the Geneva II conference on February 9, 2014 in addition to the roadmap to saving Syria which was endorsed by several opposition blocs. Moreover, it was agreed during the Cairo talks to hold consultative meetings between all spectra of the Syrian democratic opposition to formulate a unified vision for the upcoming negotiations. These consultative meetings should serve as a prelude for a national conference that brings together all spectra of the Syrian democratic opposition. The vision outlined during the Cairo talks stresses that the elimination of extremism is contingent on the elimination of tyranny and making radical and comprehensive changes to the political system to allow for the establishment of a democratic pluralistic system. It was also agreed that military action alone cannot defeat terrorism and extremism unless it is done along with a negotiating process that would lead to building a civil democratic state. Parties to the meeting also agreed to form a joint committee by the Syrian Coalition and the National Coordination Commission to oversee communication and consultation with other opposition blocs and bodies. Qaddah concluded his remarks stressing that “Moscow is not a place to hold a conference, particularly as it has been Assad’s main partner in the killing of the Syrian people since the beginning of the revolution. The country where the negotiations are to be conducted should be neutral and not an accomplice to the genocidal crimes against the Syrian people.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)
