Oqab Yahya, Vice-president of the Syrian National Coalition, stressed that the Assad regime’s continued war crimes in Idlib province indicated its insistence on carrying on with the violence it is using to disrupt the political process that is needed tp put an end to the suffering of the Syrian people.
Yahya said that the Assad regime insists on pursuing its bloody policies not only on the ground, but also in international forums where its delegations insists on the same discourse and accusing those who went out for freedom and dignity of being terrorists.
Reports by dozens of international institutes and think tanks are completely convinced that the survival of Bashar Al-Assad in power in Syria means the continuation of the cycle of killing and destruction. He pointed out that Bashar Al-Assad is the biggest obstacle in the way of any real political solution in Syria.
Yahya went on to say that “Assad will not voluntarily leave power just like any other dictator in the world, but may step aside only when he effectively loses his security and military powers as well as financial privileges. The major actors, therefore, have no option but to reduce Assad’s influence and deprive him of these privileges until he is forced to step aside.”
Yahya was commenting on a report recently issued by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) which stressed that the survival of Bashar al-Assad is a serious obstacle to achieving peace in Syria and that there is no option but to remove him from power.
The ISW, whose members include retired senior US generals and is considered closely linked to the Pentagon, noted that Assad and his inner circle are seeking to disrupt all international effort to resolve the Syrian crisis through diplomatic means.
The report recommended that the United States expand its role and work to revitalize a new diplomatic process in parallel with economic pressure and restricting Bashar al-Assad’s access to funds and prevent him from misappropriating humanitarian aid. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
