Monday, July 11, 2011

The Syrian Opposition Lacks the Sense of Responsibility and Political Maturity

The struggle of the Syrian people against the regime has two dimensions:
1. The demonstrations on the ground, in which the Syrian people showed great courage and determination and for which it deserves a score of 10/10.2. The political struggle with the regime to be carried out by the opposition politicians and for which I give the opposition politicians a 1.5/10 rating.

In order that I can evaluate the performance of the opposition, I should define first the objective of this political struggle:

1. To formulate the aspirations and demands of the Syrian people.
2. To represent the Syrian people in possible negotiations with the regime.
3. To convey the aspirations and demands of the Syrian people to the neighboring countries and the international community.
4. To communicate and to connect with the Syrian people

After having defined the roles that the opposition must fulfill, I will now evaluate the success of the opposition in carrying out these tasks.


First, the opposition
has succeeded only partially in formulating the aspirations and demands of the Syrian people. It is true that all the opposition groups have called for a state that is based on the principles of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity", the principles that are the key demands of the Syrian people. However, there are opposition groups, unlike the Syrian people, who were not clear as to the need to eliminate and submit to justice the persons who commit crimes (especially crimes against humanity).
Second, at this time no group from the opposition can claim that it is representative of the Syrian people. For the opposition to represent the Syrian people, it must be united. By "united" I do not mean that it should form one political party, but I mean that the opposition should form a temporary alliance that speaks with one voice until the regime falls and a free election is held. For this purpose, all the opposition groups that are inside the country or abroad should meet together in one conference and propose anational action plan” on which the opposition needs to explore the views of the Syrian people through the media. In addition, the opposition must elect a "national action committee" or "council" that will be the official representative of the united opposition and consequently the Syrian people. Indeed, this is the only entity that can really represent the Syrian people and have a real mandate to negotiate with the regime on behalf the Syrian people.

Third, it
is necessary that the opposition lead a political fight against the regime in the international arena. No group from the opposition could say at this point that it can represent the Syrian people in this field. Radwan Ziadeht and his friends’ visit to Moscow was good, but I have doubts that its results would be powerful enough to put real pressure on the regime. This is simply because the group is not an official representative of the opposition and therefore does not officially represent the Syrian people.

Finally,
the Syrian people need leaders from the opposition that can connect and communicate with them. The brave Syrian people deserve leaders who talk to them directly. When the "president" has appeared on television, he called them microbes. This great nation needs to hear a different discourse from its leaders. These wonderful people need leaders who respect, encourage, and reassure them regarding the future of their country. Unfortunately, no one from the opposition does directly address the Syrian people. These poor people are like "sheep without a shepherd", left alone without defence or resource to the wolf to eat them without mercy.

Briefly,
the opposition so far has failed to demonstrate a sense of responsibility and political maturity necessary to qualify as a credible representative of the Syrian people.

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