Ribal Al-Assad condemns the selection of an Islamist preacher as leader of the Syrian 'opposition' and its lack of inclusivity

Syria cleric Moaz al-Khatib to lead opposition

BBC News

11 November 2012

A leading Damascus cleric who fled Syria has been chosen at a meeting in Qatar to head a new coalition to oppose President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Cleric Moaz al-Khatib, former Sunni Muslim imam of the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, is seen as a moderate.

Earlier, Syrian opposition groups agreed a deal to bring together their disparate factions.

The fractious opposition has been under pressure from the US and other backers in the region to clinch a deal.

Ali Sadreddine al-Bayanouni, a Muslim Brotherhood delegate at the Qatar talks, said the new body would be called the National Coalition for Opposition Forces and the Syrian Revolution.

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

"I condemn the selection of an Islamist preacher to lead the Syrian opposition and the lack of inclusivity at the meeting in Doha. It is doubtful that an Islamist preacher is going to inspire confidence and bring political and religious pluralism in a country with a such a mix of cultures, ethnicities and religions. Secretary Clinton recently said in relation to this meeting that 'there needs to be an opposition that speaks to every segment and every geographic part of Syria.' This new opposition council is not genuinely inclusive and representative as many major groups were excluded from the meeting in Doha. Therefore it does not speak to every segment and every geographic part of Syria.

"The meeting was held in and brokered by Qatar, which is not a democratic country but is backing a democratic plan.That in itself is a contradiction in terms. Moreover it is very clear that 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.

"Therefore I urge the international community to ensure that such meetings and issues are held in and brokered by democratic countries. If we are for democracy then we should be for democracy everywhere."