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By Richard Hall
The Foreign Desk
Tuesday, 28 May 2013 at 12:45 pm
When this civil war is over, however distant that prospect seems today, the Syrian people will be able to live almost every moment of it again.
Unappealing though that may sound, it will be there nonetheless, and may one day even prove to be useful. The sheer scale of footage of the conflict that has been uploaded online is unprecedented in the history of war. We have seen footage of most major battles, of torture from both sides, airstrikes, massacres, taunts and cannibalism.
Today came another first in Syria’s viral civil war, as even behind the scenes diplomatic wrangling made its way on to YouTube.
A video has emerged from a crucial meeting of the main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, that gives an insight into just how divided the movement is. More on that shortly.
The SNC met in Istanbul over the weekend, ostensibly to prepare for possible peace talks with the regime next month, and also to expand its membership to include wider representation from liberal groups – a key requirement of Western powers in return for support.
The meeting was supposed to end on Saturday, but has continued today and is expected to run until tomorrow. According to various write-ups, the talks collapsed in disarray after Qatar-backed elements in the coalition backtracked on a promise to allocate more seats to a liberal bloc led by Michel Kilo, a Syrian Christian and leading opposition member.
A Reuters story details the disagreement (here):
To the dismay of envoys of Western and Arab nations monitoring four days of opposition talks in Istanbul, the 60-member Syrian National Coalition thwarted a deal to admit a liberal bloc headed by opposition campaigner Michel Kilo.
The failure to broaden the coalition, in which Qatar and a bloc largely influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood has been playing the driving role, could undermine Saudi Arabian support for the revolt and raise the specter of a rivalry among Gulf powers that could further weaken the opposition.
[...]
Kilo’s group received an offer of only five seats – instead of the more than 20 it had been looking for – after a session in Turkey that stretched nearly to dawn, coalition sources said.
The move left the Coalition controlled by a faction loyal to Qatari-backed Secretary-General Mustafa al-Sabbagh, and a bloc largely influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood. That group led resistance to the rule of Assad’s late father in the 1980s, when thousands of its members were tortured and executed.
“We were talking about 25 names as the basis for our negotiations, then there was agreement on 22 and then the number dropped to 20, then to 18, then to 15, then to five,” Kilo said, addressing the Coalition.
“I do not think you have a desire to cooperate and hold our extended hand. … We wish you all the best.”
A member of the Kilo camp said his bloc would meet later to decide whether to withdraw from the opposition meeting, although he said the coalition may still make a better offer.
The video that emerged from the meeting shows a frustrated French ambassador, Eric Chevallier, chastising members of the Syrian opposition in the lobby of the hotel where the meeting was taking place.
Chevallier, clearly annoyed by the coalition’s failure to agree on introducing new members, tells one member of the opposition: “You don’t deserve the effort that we made.”
“There was an agreement for 22. You end up with eight, there is a problem.”
One opposition member, identified as Abdulahad Staifo, replies: “You will cut the weapons?”
To which Chevallier replies: “Did I say so? I didn’t say that.”
“We can’t take our leader peacefully,” Staifo replies.
The scene will be worrying to many people for a number of reasons. The opposition is due to sit across the table from the Syrian government for peace talks in Geneva next month for the first time. Instead of presenting a unified front, the opposition is in crisis – making the likelihood of any agreement highly improbable. No agreement means more bloodshed.
Furthermore, it seems as though the collapse of the talks had a lot to do with the push and pull of various foreign powers jockeying for influence within the coalition.
This post by Matthew Barber goes into greater detail. But a quote reportedly from the SNC general secretary, Qatar-backed Mustafa Al Sabbagh, is particularly telling.
When he was asked in front of the foreign ambassadors: “What is your priority? Especially that we are facing the challenges of Geneva 2. These demands will lead to the failure of the plan or even the fracture of the coalition which might consequently lead to Bashar Al Assad staying in power”. He answered with this (literally): “My conditions are more important and urgent”.
The Foreign Desk
Tuesday, 28 May 2013 at 12:45 pm
When this civil war is over, however distant that prospect seems today, the Syrian people will be able to live almost every moment of it again.
Unappealing though that may sound, it will be there nonetheless, and may one day even prove to be useful. The sheer scale of footage of the conflict that has been uploaded online is unprecedented in the history of war. We have seen footage of most major battles, of torture from both sides, airstrikes, massacres, taunts and cannibalism.
Today came another first in Syria’s viral civil war, as even behind the scenes diplomatic wrangling made its way on to YouTube.
A video has emerged from a crucial meeting of the main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, that gives an insight into just how divided the movement is. More on that shortly.
The SNC met in Istanbul over the weekend, ostensibly to prepare for possible peace talks with the regime next month, and also to expand its membership to include wider representation from liberal groups – a key requirement of Western powers in return for support.
The meeting was supposed to end on Saturday, but has continued today and is expected to run until tomorrow. According to various write-ups, the talks collapsed in disarray after Qatar-backed elements in the coalition backtracked on a promise to allocate more seats to a liberal bloc led by Michel Kilo, a Syrian Christian and leading opposition member.
A Reuters story details the disagreement (here):
To the dismay of envoys of Western and Arab nations monitoring four days of opposition talks in Istanbul, the 60-member Syrian National Coalition thwarted a deal to admit a liberal bloc headed by opposition campaigner Michel Kilo.
The failure to broaden the coalition, in which Qatar and a bloc largely influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood has been playing the driving role, could undermine Saudi Arabian support for the revolt and raise the specter of a rivalry among Gulf powers that could further weaken the opposition.
[...]
Kilo’s group received an offer of only five seats – instead of the more than 20 it had been looking for – after a session in Turkey that stretched nearly to dawn, coalition sources said.
The move left the Coalition controlled by a faction loyal to Qatari-backed Secretary-General Mustafa al-Sabbagh, and a bloc largely influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood. That group led resistance to the rule of Assad’s late father in the 1980s, when thousands of its members were tortured and executed.
“We were talking about 25 names as the basis for our negotiations, then there was agreement on 22 and then the number dropped to 20, then to 18, then to 15, then to five,” Kilo said, addressing the Coalition.
“I do not think you have a desire to cooperate and hold our extended hand. … We wish you all the best.”
A member of the Kilo camp said his bloc would meet later to decide whether to withdraw from the opposition meeting, although he said the coalition may still make a better offer.
The video that emerged from the meeting shows a frustrated French ambassador, Eric Chevallier, chastising members of the Syrian opposition in the lobby of the hotel where the meeting was taking place.
Chevallier, clearly annoyed by the coalition’s failure to agree on introducing new members, tells one member of the opposition: “You don’t deserve the effort that we made.”
“There was an agreement for 22. You end up with eight, there is a problem.”
One opposition member, identified as Abdulahad Staifo, replies: “You will cut the weapons?”
To which Chevallier replies: “Did I say so? I didn’t say that.”
“We can’t take our leader peacefully,” Staifo replies.
The scene will be worrying to many people for a number of reasons. The opposition is due to sit across the table from the Syrian government for peace talks in Geneva next month for the first time. Instead of presenting a unified front, the opposition is in crisis – making the likelihood of any agreement highly improbable. No agreement means more bloodshed.
Furthermore, it seems as though the collapse of the talks had a lot to do with the push and pull of various foreign powers jockeying for influence within the coalition.
This post by Matthew Barber goes into greater detail. But a quote reportedly from the SNC general secretary, Qatar-backed Mustafa Al Sabbagh, is particularly telling.
When he was asked in front of the foreign ambassadors: “What is your priority? Especially that we are facing the challenges of Geneva 2. These demands will lead to the failure of the plan or even the fracture of the coalition which might consequently lead to Bashar Al Assad staying in power”. He answered with this (literally): “My conditions are more important and urgent”.
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