Spokesman for the oppositions’ High Negotiations Committee (HNC) Munther Makhos said the Assad regime and its allies are directly responsible for the deterioration of the situation in Syria whether on the political, security or humanitarian levels. The political process has reached a deadlock because of the policies of the Assad regime and its allies, he added.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Makhos, who is also a member of the Syrian Coalition, said that the political process in Syria has been disrupted by proposals by the Assad regime and its allies for a partial solution through the formation of a so-called national unity government under the umbrella of the Assad regime.
Makhos pointed out that there is no political transition that includes elements of the Assad regime whose hands are stained with the blood of the Syrian people.
In his latest speech, Bashar al-Assad did not only rule out genuine political transition in Syria, but also reiterated he will carry on with the military solution, recapture Aleppo, and liquidate all his opponents.
There are two opposing approaches to solution in Syria. The first one is the approach of the opposition, which aims to remove the tyrannical corrupt regime and establish a civil, democratic pluralistic state. The second is the regime’s approach, through which Assad seeks to cling to power and adamantly refuses to improve the humanitarian situation in Syria thus forcing the Syrian opposition to suspend negotiations, Makhos went on to say.
“The cessation of hostilities agreement no longer exists on the ground in spite of the announcement of local sporadic, temporary truces. Violence and hostilities, especially the dropping of barrel bombs by the Assad regime on populated areas, have continued unabated since the declaration of the agreement, and sometimes even increased. The Assad regime and its allies have not shown any respect for the UN Security Council resolutions 2254 and 2268.”
Makhos added: “The political solution is still in a state of clinical death. The stalled political process cannot be pushed forward as negotiations have reached an impasse for purely political reasons rather than for technical details that could be overcome.”
“The Assad regime has only allowed small amounts of aid into besieged areas, which further proves a complete lack of commitment to its obligations, especially with regards to improving the humanitarian situation.”
Makhos added that humanitarian assistance reached only 46 percent of those in need across Syria, while only 12 percent of civilians in hard-to-reach areas got access to aid. He compared the situation in besieged areas to that in the Russian city of Leningrad during World War II.
“Moreover, these figures can be misleading as the humanitarian aid that was allowed into the areas besieged by the Assad regime and its allies were almost completely emptied of life-saving medical supplies after regime forces removed them from the UN aid convoys.”
All kinds of aid were supposed to be delivered to besieged areas before the launch of Geneva talks to create an environment conducive for launching a political process as was set out in the UN Security Council resolutions 2254 and 2268, he stressed.
Makhos noted that the Assad regime uses starvation and blockades as a weapon of war to force civilians and rebel fighters in besieged cities to surrender and agree to so-called reconciliations according to terms dictated by the regime.
“Mothers have been reduced to cooking leaves and grass to feed their starving children. It was not until videos and photos of skeletal children and babies in areas besieged by the Assad regime began to emerge in early January that the UN decided to take action. These photos were clearly reminiscent of the Holocaust.”
Makhos pointed out that no progress has yet been made in the file of detainees in Assad’s prisons, accusing the Assad regime of large-scale systematic violations and abuses against detainees in its prisons.
UN Security Council resolutions, in particular resolutions 2254 and 2268, have clearly called for the immediate release of all detainees in Assad’s prisons whose numbers are estimated at no fewer than 250,000. In addition, there are about 100,000 people who have gone missing. Those missing people have been most likely executed and buried in mass graves that will be discovered later, according to Makhos. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
