General Assembly Elects New Coalition Head and Discusses Going to Geneva II

The Syrian Coalition’s General Assembly began today the eleventh session of meetings to elect a new president under the supervision of Haitham al-Maleh, the President of the Legal Committee. Other elections of members of the Political Committee will be held during the meeting. Ahmad Jarba, the current president and Riad Hijab, a member of the Coalition are the presidential candidates, while the candidates for the General Secretariat are the current president Badr Addin Jamous and Mustafa Sabbagh. As for the vice presidency, the candidates are George Sabra, Ahmad Tayfur, Rima Fleihan and Nora Al Amir. Well informed sources within the Coalition said that the decision on going to Geneva will be voted on tomorrow, after the completion of the electoral process. The Coalition has been oscillating between going to Geneva II and rejecting the invitation, in light of the international silence towards the massacres committed by the Assad regime against the Syrian people. Because of the latest attack on Aleppo by the Assad regime and the International silence that have followed, Badr al-Din Jamous, SG of the Syrian Coalition, stated earlier that this “does not encourage the Syrian Coalition’s members to vote on going to Geneva during the next conference of the General Assembly.”  Jamous also stressed that “the Syrian Coalition cannot monopolize the decision on participation in Geneva II, so we sent a delegation of the Syrian Coalition to consult with the revolutionaries to decide upon participation in the conference.” Louay Mekdad, the FSA’s political and media coordinator, said that Russia “seeks to achieve the greatest possible interests for the Assad regime at Geneva II through pressuring the revolutionaries to attend the conference.” Mekdad stresses that sitting with the criminal regime at the negotiating table “will end its political isolation and international ostracism, which came in response to the horrific massacres committed against the Syrian people.” Mekdad went on: “The international community and Russia knew well that Geneva II would not result in a fatal blow to the Assad regime. If they really had sincere intentions, then they would try to find a solution either through Geneva II, or in any other way. George Sabra, former president of the Syrian Coalition, said that “Geneva II wouldn’t result in a peaceful solution without real guarantees.” Sabra also states that Russia and Iran seek to “sow division among Syrian revolutionaries through sorting them into moderates and hardliners, and through insisting that the goal of Geneva II must be fighting terrorism.” Furthermore, Sabra addressed those who are being rushed into going to Geneva II, saying that “the latest statements made by the Assad regime and his allies indicate that Geneva II is not meant to achieve a political solution. Rather, those statements indicate that their real goal is legalize killing of the Syrian people.” Sabra went on: “Without getting real guarantees, the outcome of Geneva II would mean nothing to the Syrian people and this is why going to the conference is met with outright rejection.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)