A member of a prominent opposition group demanded Monday that the National Coalition leadership resign en masse for its failure to defend Syrians inside the country.
The proposal was made by Marwan Hajjo
Rifai, a founding member of the Syrian National Council, which was the
principal opposition-in-exile group before it was eclipsed by the coalition.
In a letter published on a pro-opposition
website, Rifai said the coalition’s members had failed to rally the
international community in order to pressure the Syrian regime to lift its
blockade of civilian areas or ensure that international bodies deliver aid to
such regions.
The coalition has also failed to pressure
the regime to halt its use of heavy weapons and crude “barrel bombs” against
civilian populations, despite the group’s ties with foreign countries, he said.
“Let the international community put Syria
under international protection,” Hajjo wrote.
“Our presence has become catastrophic for
people inside the country … if the coalition wishes to remain just as a means
for convening the Geneva II conference and sitting down with the killer of
children … then let the coalition go to hell.”
In relevant development, a new Syrian opposition bloc
seeks to form new body instead of the west-backed National Coalition in their
upcoming meeting in Cordoba, the southern city of Spain on January 9 and 10,
Special source told Zaman Alwasl.
More than 200 participants will attend the conference,
who represents the Syrian opposition spectrum, including 19 representatives
from the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change, with remarkable
participation from the newly formed 55-Islamist units, The Islamic Front.
Spain will hold a meeting of Syrian opposition groups
in early January ahead of next month's planned peace talks, known as
"Geneva 2", aimed at halting the three-year war in Syria, Spanish
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said according to Reuters.
"(The) aim is to bolster dialogue between the
groups and boost their cohesion ahead of Geneva 2," Rajoy told reporters.
According to the source, some opposition figures will
propose a draft for the 2014 presidential elections, nominates a well-known
Damascene Sunni Businessman, (his name was not mentioned) who is big ally for
rebels of Ghouta, to lead Syria after Bashar Al Assad.
The draft noted that the Syrian regime figures can
participate in the power.
Syria's armed uprising began as a series of peaceful
democracy protests 33 months ago but escalated into a full-blown civil war
after Assad's regime launched a brutal crackdown on dissent.
The conflict is estimated to have killed around 126,000
people and displaced millions more. (With Daily Star)
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