Jarba: We Presented Our Terms for Going to Geneva… First of Which is No Dialogue with the Regime |
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The Syrian National Coalition President, Ahamd Aweinan Assi al Jarba, confirmed that “some tried to force the Coalition into attending ‘Geneva 2’ as the mandatory route for any international interaction with the Coalition as if the Geneva conference were the revolution’s entrance into the international community so that it may hear our voice and commit to our demands. Because we recognize the seriousness of the situation and the sensitivity of the circumstance just as we recognize Assad’s lie, we decided not to reject Geneva 2 with simply rejection but instead accept it based on terms that ensure its success and prevent the regime from playing on the time factor.” Jarba’s words were stated in a press conference in Istanbul this evening where he referred to a set of terms provided by the Coalition to the international community to the ensure the success of Geneva 2 by leading to the transition of power, holding criminals accountable, and securing necessary justice to ensure security and stability, and the terms are: assuring that there is no dialogue with a criminal regime because a national dialogue happens between nationalists seeking a future for their nation and not between revolutionaries and a traitorous murderous regime that has offered Syria only occupation by militias.” Jarba added, “We requested that before any negotiations a guarantee for oversight be given from Arab and Islamic nations, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, and Jordan, under the auspices of the Arab League. We also reject Iran having any participatory role or to be a channel for any negotiations and in the case that it wanted this then it must pull out its Revolutionary Guard.” Jarba made clear that in the case that the international community was able to secure these terms the proposal (to participate in Geneva 2) would be presented to the institutional framework of the National Coalition to present the proposal to the Supreme Military Council and the Joint Chief of Staff to discuss the proposal with revolutionary factions and return to the General Assembly of the Syrian National Coalition with a decision for approval. (Source: Coalition) |
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Coalition Meeting the 25th of Next Month to Take a Position on Geneva
Khalid Khoja, representative of the Syrian National Coalition in Turkey, said “Coalition members will meet on October 25th to determine the current roadmap regarding the Geneva 2 Conference, based on the changes in the U.S. position on the situation in Syria. Khoja explained that, “there is a trend within the Coalition about an alternative to ‘Geneva 2’ which is to strengthen military support to the Free Syrian Army”. Khoja said that “Kerry ‘s successive remarks have brought about guesses about the existence of a Russian – American deal and the Israeli lobby may be behind the deal between the two countries; relations with Iran may be a part of this deal .” Khoja expressed his belief that this transition will not affect the Coalition’s position on “Geneva 2”. Khoja’s words came in response to comments made yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in which he praised the “standard speed” with which process of destroying the Syrian chemical arsenal began, and the Assad regime’s compliance with the chemical weapons agreement. (Source: Coalition + al Jazeera) |
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Kidnapping of the Syrian National council member and activists Faiq al Meer in Damascus Regime forces in Damascus kidnapped Syrian National Council members and political activist Faiq al Meer. It is worth nothing that al Meer is originally from Qadmous and a leader in the Democratic People’s Party which is led by Riyad al Turk. Al Meer has a long and heroic political history for he had been captured in 1989 in Damascus by the Military Security Branch due to his activities in the party and remained in prison for close to three years before being transferred to Saydnaya Prison where the State Security court ruled against him and sentenced him to 10 years where he remained until he was pardoned and released in 1999. In 2010, the security forces raided his home in Tartous in hopes of capturing him once again, since then he has been out of sight. (Source: Coalition) |
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53 Martyrs in Syria Until this Evening and 85 Martyrs Yesterday Local Coordination Committees in Syria documented 85 martyrs yesterday, 53 were killed up until 6 PM this evening. Among the martyrs are three women and a child, as well as 27 martyrs in Damascus and its countryside, 15 in al Hasakah, three in Hamah, and two in each of Aleppo, Idleb, Der Elzor, and one in each of Daraa and Homs. (Source: Local Coordination Committees) Regime Forces Target Protesters in Damascus Regime forces fired peaceful protesters this morning in al Yarmouk Camp, they were demanding lifting of the siege on the al Yarmouk Camp in a protest dubbed “the Protest of Challenge” resulting in the martyrdom of a young man and three others injured due to rocket shelling on al Yarmouk Camp. Regime fighter jets also conduct air strikes on the towns of Jisreen, Kafar Batna, and Wadi Barada in the Damascus countryside resulting in many civilians being injured and a number of residential homes being destroyed. (Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committees) The Free Syrian Army Shoots Down Fighter Jet in Inkhil The FSA shot down a MiG fighter jet in Inkhil, Daraa. The jet was conducting air strikes on the cities and towns of the province. Regime forces also shelled the town of al Mseifra with heavy artillery resulting in the martyrdom of a woman and many others being injured. The FSA in al Sweida targeted Khalkhala Military Airport and confirmed direct hits on Assad regime ranks. At the same time clashes occurred between the FSA and regime forces in the town of Qasiba in the al Quneitra countryside as the regime shelled the area. (Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)
Fierce Shelling with Artillery Takes the Lives of 15 Martyrs in al Shadady The town of al Shadady in al Hasaka witnessed fierce shelling by heavy artillery from regime forces which took the lives of 15 martyrs and injured a large number of people. At the same time, today regime forces renewed their shelling with explosive barrels on Kafar Zeita and Saraqeb in the Idleb countryside resulting in the martyrdom of a number of people among them women and children. Their number is not known until now, there were also a significant number of injured people and many buildings were destroyed. (Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committee)
The Free Syrian Army Targets a Regime Vehicle in Jabal al Waha in the Aleppo Countryside The FSA targeted regime forces strongholds in Jabal al Waha and the officers’ quarters in al Sfeira, Aleppo securing direct hits. A vehicle transferring regime forces exploded west of al Qibteen in the Aleppo countryside killing all of those in the vehicle. Fierce clashes occurred between the FSA and regime forces in al Khalidiye amidst regime shelling of the area resulting in the injury of many people and damage to many homes. Also, regime fighter jets dropped cluster bombs on the village of Abu Dareeja in the al Sfeira area in the Aleppo countryside resulting in the injury of a number of civilians and the destruction of their homes. (Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committee) |
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Washington and Moscow Want to Hold Geneva 2 in Mid –November Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed yesterday Russia and the United States’ desire to have an international peace conference on Syria ‘Geneva 2’ in mid-November to search for a political resolution. After a meeting with his American counterpart John Kerry, Lavrov said, “We have agreed on measures to be taken for both Assad’s government and the Coalition to take part in the conference.” It is expected that the Geneva 2 conference will confirm the general guidelines of the international agreement on a political transition in Syria which were drafted on June 30th, 2012 in Geneva, but have not yet been applied. (Source: AFP + al Hayat) The International Team Begins Dismantling Chemical Weapons and Facilities A source on the international team for dismantling the Syrian chemical weapons said yesterday that the team began dismantling the Syrian chemical weapons and production facilities, adding that “the members of the joint mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations have gone to the sites where they started the process of verification and destruction of weapons.” The source, who declined to reveal his name said that “Sunday was the first day of destruction where heavy machinery be run weapons, and consequently the destruction of missile warheads chemical bombs that can be dropped from the air, as well as fixed and mobile blending and packaging units.” The source went onto say that “the first phase, which includes the Syrian regime exposing the sites, is nearing its end, and now we move forward in the direction of the second phase, verification, destruction and dismantling.” (Source: al Hayat + AFP) Jordan In Need of 8,000 Portable Homes for Syrian Refugees A Jordanian authority said that his country was in need of 8,000 new portable homes for some of the Syrian refugees in al Zaatari camp in al Mafraq Province in the northern part of the Kingdom on the Syrian border. The Director of the Department of Syrian Refugee Camps, Brigadier General Wadah Hamoud, said that “the international organizations to supply the camp which is inhabited by 120,295 refugees in need of mobile homes and to respond to request for aid made by the Ministry of Planning to secure these mobile homes as soon as possible.” (Source: al Hayat + AFP)
2,811 Martyrs This Past September Among them 264 Children The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented in a report published by the Anatolia News Agency , the martyrdom of 2,811 Syrian citizens during the month of September, including 792 from the Free Syrian Army, 1,584 civilians, 264 children, and 128 civilians died under torture , including a child and a woman . The network explained in its report that the average daily death toll last month was 95, and that the daily rate of children being killed was significantly increasing and was close to 10 children per day. For the proportion of children to be16% of all deaths is a sign that it is too high. The report pointed out the deaths of 128 people under torture, with an average of 7 people per day tortured in detention centers, both official and non-official, to death. (Source: al Quds al Arabi + Anatolia News Agency)
In Order To Preserve the Border a Separation Wall Constructed in “Nasibin” A Turkish representative said that Turkey will build a two meter high wall on the border with Syria in an attempt to prevent refugees from avoiding security checkpoints in an illegal fashion and the prevention of smuggling. The work to lay the foundation of the wall has begun in Nisibin and this is border area that is only 10 Km from the Syrian town of al Qamishli where many clashes between the Kurdish fighting groups, the Free Syrian Army, and tribes occurred. An anonymous government authority in Ankara said “we do not have any problems as of yet with the security of the border in Nasibin but in this are it is quite easy for people to cross in an illegal manner, it is as if there is no border.” (Source: Reuters + al Hayat) |