Syrian Opposition Needs Unity But Continues to Splinter

As violence continues in Syria, and the United Nations struggles to get its truce observers into place, the Syrian opposition is splintering into much more factions.

Syrian forces continue to shell opposition strongholds.  The opposition refuses to backtrack.  And civilians continue to bear the brunt of the violence.

But within the far calmer surroundings of Paris, another Syrian opposition group was born last week, with plans to form a central authority-in-exile.  It claims to have the support of opposition fighters and therefore to be "the legitimate representative of the Syrian people."  

That is a phrase much utilized in this conflict.  At a gathering in Istanbul last month, the international organization the buddies of Syria declared an additional group, the Syrian National Council, “a” legitimate representative of the Syrian people.  The group's leaders say meaning they're “the” legitimate representative.

Syria-watcher Chris Doyle, who has hosted various Syrian opposition figures at his London-based Council for Arab-British Understanding, is worried about such competing claims.

“I think it's really important to stress that just because the regime has no legitimacy and not did, the one way a Syrian movement may have legitimacy must be by the endorsement of the Syrian people through a ballot box,” he said.

Doyle says it's not realistic to expect the various Syrian groups to unite under one political banner.  Rather, he suggests a loose coalition sharing only the goal of ousting President Bashar al-Assad.

But the president continues to have considerable support among some groups in Syria.  Former senior British and United Nations official Mark Malloch-Brown, now with FTI Consulting, says that makes it particularly important for the Syrian opposition to return together.

“The opposition doesn't have the luxurious, and should not allow itself to be irresponsible enough, to stay permanently divided," he said. "There has to be an opposition negotiating platform.  And somehow or other these groups should show the statesmanship to return together one way or the other to agree on terms.”

There are few signs of that to date.  And that can make it tougher for the international community to convince Assad supporters inside Syria to alter their allegiance.

“If they need a stake sooner or later political arrangements of the rustic, Assad has to be jettisoned," said Malloch-Brown. "And so i believe you will note tensions develop between the wider regime establishment and the Assad family.”

Malloch-Brown says making that happen would require help from Assad's key foreign supporters, particularly Russia - help he says may eventually come if efforts to begin negotiations fail - and as a final resort to prevent Western military intervention.

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From WhatNewsToday.net

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