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Syrian opposition at home voices rejection of armed uprising, calls for peaceful change

03 October 2011 22:51 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Syrian opposition groups at home voiced vehement rejection of the idea of armed uprising while other moderate groups stressed on a compromise between adamant opposition groups outside Syria and the ruling leadership to salvage the country from menacing dangers, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Syrian dissidents agreed in principle Sunday to form a seven- member executive committee for their national council, an idea that was cautiously welcomed by some parties and rejected by others, following three days of deliberations behind closed doors in Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul.

Some Syrian opposition figures in Syria said it’s the right of Syrians at home and abroad to convene conferences to unite their future perspective and agree on a united work plan.

Burhan Ghalyoun, a Syrian activist and dissident living aboard, who presided over the Istanbul meeting, said Sunday that the opposition outside Syria has agreed on the necessity of establishing a democratic system.

Abdul-Aziz al-Kheir, member of the executive committee’s politburo, said Istanbul meeting was a "big crack in the efforts of uniting the opposition."

He stressed that the committee is against military intervention and is backing a democratic change with peaceful means.

He told Xinhua that the opposition groups outside should have better coordinated stance with the opposition inside Syria, adding that "the Istanbul meeting is not the end."

The general coordinator of the committee, Hassan Abdul-Azim, brushed aside speculations that the Istanbul meeting would have dire repercussions on the opposition inside Syria, saying that the conference is "a step on the road of uniting the opposition inside and outside Syria."

"Uniting the opposition requires a common political vision focusing on four main issues: ending the current security regime, rejecting military intervention, rejecting all aspects of armament inside Syria and all sectarian rifts."

Some opposition figures on Sunday accused the Istanbul meeting of giving a blow to all efforts aiming at uniting the opposition, adding that invitations were sent to some individuals in the opposition but not to the Coordination Committee for the Forces of National Democratic Change.

Louay Hussein, a prominent Syrian opposition figure, said the Syrian opposition in Syria didn’t boycott Istanbul meeting, however, he personally didn’t receive any invitation to participate.

He told Xinhua by telephone, "it’s normal to have differences in points of view among all opposition political parties either inside or outside Syria due to the size of challenges they are encountering."

The major point of difference, he said, is the call for arming the opposition in Syria and the issues of foreign military intervention and overthrowing the leadership.

Meanwhile, the recently formed "Third Way" movement that groups around 40 politicians and intellectuals deplored Monday the absence of appropriate climates to launch national dialogue to solve the current crisis in Syria, saying a compromise between the opposition and the government could salvage the country.

During a press conference, members of the movement voiced their support to the process of reforms announced by the Syrian government and called for the cessation of all kinds of violence.

They said the government should listen to the protestors’ " righteous demands in a democratic homeland," noting that the Syrian army units should immediately return to their barracks along with all armed groups.

They recommended that special offices should open to receive peoples’ complaints, hold accountable for all criminals, rioters and wrongdoers, as well as lay foundations for a supreme council for human rights "to protect the Syrian lives."

The movement said the sole way to end the crisis in the country is to launch a dialogue among all Syrians whether they are from the opposition and the leadership’s supporters.

Mohammad Habash, one of the founders of the movement, urged the newly formed national council to put forward "logical and possible suggestions and genuine program to rescue Syria."

"We in the Third Way work for building bridges between the state and the opposition," he said, reasserting the movement’s absolute rejection of any military intervention in the country’s affairs.

Habash said the security solution would never solve the problem, saying the government is to be partially blamed for the emergence of armed resistance "that jeopardizes our security and safety."

Syria has been wracked by six-month-old unrest it blames on foreign conspiracy and foreign thugs.

Syrian president’s political and media adviser Buthayna Shaaban recently put the number of army officers and law-enforcement troops killed since the eruption of protests in Syria in mid March at 800, while a recent UN tally put the number of civilians who were allegedly gunned down by security forces at 2,700.