Ribal Al-Assad calls on leading Western powers to ensure words are matched by actions on promoting democracy across the Middle East

William Hague signals recognition of new Syrian rebel grouping

www.telegraph.co.uk

16 November 2012

William Hague signalled that Britain is prepared to formally recognise a new Syrian opposition grouping, as he hailed an "encouraging tunring point" in fight against Bashar al-Assad.

France, Turkey and the Gulf states have also recognised a new Syrian opposition group as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, a move Mr Hague is likely to make next week after meeting delegates from Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces in London.

Officials from the US, France, Germany and other nations also attended meetings in London with the group, aimed at determining how better to support opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad and to stress the need for the opposition fighters to respect human rights.

On recognition of the opposition, Mr Hague said: “We would like to be able at an early stage to recognise them as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

“The meeting we have had today is an important component of that and we’ll continue to work on this over the next few days and I will make a further statement to our Parliament about this next week”.

Describing his talks with the opposition as “encouraging”, Mr Hague confirmed he would make a decision on recognition within a few days.

Mr Hague said he had pressed Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib and his two deputies, who are on their first visit to a Western capital since a united Syrian opposition was formed last weekend, on the need to be inclusive and to respect human rights.

European nations are discussing whether to overturn an arms embargo on Syria, which would allow weapons to be supplied to rebel forces struggling to topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Britain has insisted so far that it will not supply weapons to Syria's rebels, but Mr Hague confirmed that the National Security Council had discussed whether a European Union arms embargo could be lifted.

Commenting on the story, Ribal Al-Assad, Director of the ODFS, said:

"I welcome President Obama's statement that the US is not yet ready to recognise the Syrian National Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. I am disappointed with France's decision to give them full recognition. I call on the UK government to be cautious and follow the US in not giving full recognition to the Council.

"I am confused and disappointed by the contradictions in the approach taken by western powers such as the US, UK and France in promoting democracy and freedom in the Middle East. For example, prior to the recent meeting in Doha, Qatar, to unify the Syrian opposition, Secretary Clinton said that 'there needs to be an opposition that speaks to every segment and every geographic part of Syria.' Yet many major groups were excluded from the meeting in Doha. Furthermore what was the process of selecting the groups who participated? What gives them 'legitimacy' and not others? Therefore it is clear that this group of about 300 people cannot be the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. It was just a unification of the groups that attended the meeting. How is that genuinely inclusive and representative?

"The result is a new Syrian National Coalition that does not speak to every segment and geographic part of Syria. Moreover its president an Islamist preacher is unlikely to bring political and religious pluralism in a country with such a rich mosaic of cultures, ethnicities and religions.

"The western powers also allowed the meeting to be held in Qatar whose government brokered the outcome. Qatar is not a free and democratic country, so why is it hosting and brokering a democratic plan? When does it intend to present a democratic plan for itself? When will Qatar allow freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and human rights for all of its population? Moreover the Qatari government is not acting as an honest broker as they favour the Muslim Brotherhood and are attempting to transplant them into power in Syria. Furthermore Qatar is funding and arming Islamist groups in Syria, which has led to the further militarisation of the conflict and contributed to the failure of the Kofi Annan Plan. So why do the western powers follow the lead of Qatar?

"If the western powers are for democracy, freedom and human rights then they should be for democracy, freedom and human rights everywhere in the Middle East. There cannot and must not be exceptions in the region. The people of all the countries in the Middle East must be able to decide their future, elect their leaders and enjoy universal human rights.

"I commend Mr Hague for pressing the leadership of the new Syrian National Coalition on the need to be inclusive and to respect human rights. However as I have already said they are not a genuinely inclusive group that represents the Syrian people because other major opposition groups were excluded from the meeting in Doha. Moreover does Mr Hague really think that all the Syrian people would accept an Islamist Preacher to lead them?

"On the issue of arming the Syrian opposition I believe that this will further militarise the conflict and lead to greater loss of life and destruction. Moreover it absolutely clear that some of the arms would reach militant Jihadi, Wahhabi, and Salafi groups who are working towards bringing a theocracy in Syria. Futhermore this is not consistent with the principles of the Kofi Annan plan, which are to de-escalate the violence and have a ceasefire leading to a peaceful Syrian led transition. Further militarisation could also stoke a regional conflict, which would be disastrous.

"I call on the EU and the US to bring together all the Syrian opposition groups onto one platform and to promote democracy and freedom across the Middle East consistently."