Serious step towards freedom

It seems that the Syrian opposition has finally overcome deep division and united around a new leader in a new coalition. By doing so, they gave a major boost to over the 20-month struggle of broken and fragmented opposition forces against the Assad’s regime. Over 36,000 people have been already killed in Syria over the long period of the rebellion against the government of Bashar al-Assad. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the country.

It happened after two weeks of intense negotiations in Doha, Qatar, where the opposition signed the agreement on the establishment of the National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, which will represent the interests of all the opponents of the President Assad. Late on Sunday night on November 11 Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, 52 year old Islamic preacher and scholar, was unanimously called the president of the National Coalition. Former deputy Riad Seif, who spent several years in prison for criticizing the regime, and Suhair Atassi, a prominent human rights activist, were named vice presidents.

“This is a serious step against the regime and a serious step towards freedom,” George Sabra, leader of Syrian National Council, commented on the election of al-Khatib as the president of the National Coalition in an interview with Al Jazeera.

The election of al-Khatib was a surprise to observers, as he recently rarely spoke to the media and did not present himself as the leader of the opposition. At the same time Al Jazeera indicates that he is very popular among the people of Damascus, which is still under the control of the authorities. Besides, al-Khatib became a compromise figure, because he is not associated with any of the Syrian opposition groups, which have recently been unable to agree.

Khatib has the reputation of a moderate preacher. He was the Imam of the Sunni Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, but escaped from Syria in July of this year after he had been arrested several times. Like his father, he led one of the main mosques of Damascus (although in his youth he studied applied geophysics).

In his speech in Doha in October al-Khatib called a political solution to the crisis, to save Syria from further destruction. According to him, the negotiations with President Assad “will not save the regime,” but will make its departure less painful. He also said: “We demand freedom for every Sunni, Alawite, Shia, Christian, Druze, Assyrian, and right for all people of the harmonic Syrian nation.”

It should be noted that the leadership of the new coalition is carefully balanced, represents different parts of the political spectrum and from now on it will be viewed as the voice of all the forces opposing Assad. It includes representatives of the Kurds, Christians, Alawites, and women’s organizations in Syria. Besides, 22 of 60 seats in the National Coalition are reserved for the Syrian National Council. Military Council of the National Coalition will include representatives of the Free Syrian Army, which plays the leading role in the armed resistance to the government forces of Assad.

The project of the National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces was initiated by Riad Seif with the support of the US. They managed to sign the final agreement of the 12 points only on the third day of negotiations on Sunday, November 11.

The State Department of the US expressed support for Syria’s new opposition coalition formed after the talks in Qatar later that day. “We are pleased to support the National Coalition, as it determines the course aimed at ending the bloody rule of Bashar al-Assad and the beginning of a peaceful, just, and democratic future that people of Syria deserve,” was noted in the statement made by Mark Toner, US Department of State acting deputy.

According to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, National Coalition in the person of the head of Syrian National Council and leader of the Coalition Moaz al-Khatib, has every chance of success if it is fully aware of its responsibility to the people and will avoid internal misunderstandings.

Bin Jassim also added that al-Khatib in the near future “will take steps to address the League of Arab States to obtain international recognition of the Coalition.” “This is the first important step. But more importantly is how this new body will act in the future,” added the head of the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

Ahmet Davutoglu, Foreign Minister of Turkey who was present during the consultations on the creation of the National Coalition, said that now foreign states should not have any excuses not to support the opposition.

Chief of French diplomacy Laurent Fabius said that France will work with partners to ensure international recognition of the new formation as a representative of the new generation of aspirations of the Syrian people. According to Fabius, who named the Assad government “the criminal regime in Damascus,” the signing of the agreement on the formation of the Coalition is “an important step.”

In their turn, the members of the new Coalition said at a conference in Doha that as soon as they receive full international recognition, they will immediately declare a provisional government. Besides, the opposition plans to appeal to the international community for assistance in obtaining a humanitarian corridor, establishing a no-fly zone in the northern parts of the country, preferably in the province of Idlib and Aleppo. Opposition members acknowledge that they need about a month or two to move to this area and establish a provisional government there, according to the reports of Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, the bloodshed in Syria continued on Sunday. According to opposition activists in the country, the government aircraft attacked the area near the border with Turkey after the rebels captured the border checkpoint. Helicopters and artillery shelled the area of Ras al-Ayn. There are also reports on fighting in Damascus, the city of Abu Kamal near the border with Iraq, in Irvine and Deir Ezzor in Eastern Syria.

The Day asked Ukraine’s Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa Yevhen Mykytenko to comment on the meaning of creation of the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces.

“A noted politician from the Middle East said, don’t believe the person who knows what happens in the Middle East tomorrow. We shall see what we shall see. As far as I know, many Christians continue to support Bashar Assad. The question is also about the Alawis, approximately 10 percent of Syrian population, who have not yet made up their mind whether they are for or against Assad. Besides, we have information that not all Kurd organizations support the creation of this new National Coalition. I mean many unanswered questions will remain.”

“Ukraine’s position concerning Syria remains unchanged. We remember that Syria is a very important trade partner for us. Many our citizens continue to live in Syria. We are working hard on resolving the situation with our female journalist, a Ukrainian citizen, being kept by the representatives of the Free Syrian Army. So, it is up to Syrian people whether to recognize the National Coalition and further destiny of Syria or not.”