Major news in Qatar on July 3: Arabs urge Syria opposition to unite
Major news in <The Peninsula>: Arabs urge Syria opposition to unite
Qatar with other Arab states and Turkey urged Syria’s divided opposition yesterday to unite and form a credible alternative to the government of President Bashar
Al Assad, but rifts swiftly emerged at talks in Cairo.
Addressing the conference of Syrian opposition, which kicked off here yesterday, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, H E Dr Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah said Qatar has been closely working with all Syrian factions and regional and international actors within the Arab League and the United Nations in order to prevent further bloodshed in Syria, and preserve its security and stability.
The unity calls were made at the opening of a two-day meeting organised by the Arab League to try to rally Syria’s opposition, which has been beset by in-fighting that diplomats say have made it tougher for the world to respond to the crisis.
Sixteen months into an uprising against Assad, squabbling among the opposition makes it less likely to be able to win international recognition or to get more than half-hearted foreign support.
“The Syrian opposition is tasked with assuming responsibility to support the Syrian people in achieving their aspirations for security, stability and prosperity despite the current difficulties, challenges and limited means requiring exceptional efforts to achieve the desired goal of regime change, Dr Al Attiyah said.
“It is not acceptable to waste this opportunity in any way. The sacrifices of the Syrian people are bigger than us all and more precious than any differences or individual and party interests,” Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al Arabi said, addressing the roughly 200 Syrian politicians and activists.
Diplomats and officials at the talks, which are being boycotted by the Free Syrian Army which is leading the armed struggle against Assad’s forces, said they did not expect a major agreement to emerge but hoped for some progress. “We don’t expect the opposition will unite today after what we have seen in past meetings, they are always fighting behind closed doors,” said one League source. “But there is always a chance that things could change for the better.”
Even as the talks got under way, divisions appeared between Islamists and secularists as well as between those inside Syria and other opposition figures based abroad.
Syrian Islamists said they objected to those calling for a complete separation between state and religion in a new Syria. Others said any agreements reached in Cairo would not necessarily hold sway inside Syria.
International powers, also divided on how to react, agreed at a meeting in Geneva on Saturday that a transitional government should be set up in Syria, but left open the question of whether Assad might play a role in that process.
Dr Al Attiyah called upon all Syrian oppositions factions to develop a road map identifying the objectives of the next phase based on the resolutions adopted by the Arab League and the United Nations.
The AsiaN Reporter 
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