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| Ahmad al-Jarba, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, attends a press conference after an informal meeting with United Nations Security Council members at the UN headquarters in New York, on July 26, 2013. Members of the Syrian opposition, describing a "desperate" situation in their country, asked the UN Security Council on Friday to pressure the government of President Bashar al Assad to accept a political transition. (Xinhua/Niu Xiaolei) |
by William M. Reilly
UNITED NATIONS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Members of the Syrian opposition, describing a "desperate" situation in their country, asked the UN Security Council on Friday to pressure the government of President Bashar al Assad to accept a political transition.
The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, led by Ahmad al-Jarba who is president of the coalition, met informally with members of the council in a UN meeting room, rather than the council chambers.
However, a UN spokesman said the session did not signify any UN recognition of the group, pointing out it was not an official meeting but facilities were arranged at the request of members of the 15-member council under the Arria formula for such informal conclaves.
"The situation in Syria is desperate," al-Jarba said he told the council. "The Syrian people are calling for peace and democracy. We need far more international pressure to force the Assad regime to accept a political transition."
He later made his remarks in the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA) meeting room here at UN headquarters in New York. The venue itself was another indication the coalition was not officially recognized by the world organization as its meeting with the press was as guests of the reporters.
"I asked the Security Council clearly to demand from the regime and all parties, commitment to the Geneva Communique and its acceptance of a transition to democracy," he said. "If they refuse, the Security Council should impose targeted sanctions to force them to comply."
"As long as the Assad regime is waging war against the Syrian people, the opposition must have the right to self defense," al- Jarba said. "To deny us the means to defend our people is to ensure that the regime will never step down and its violent repression will continue."
The coalition head said the group was ready to attend peace talks "as long as they are explicitly on the basis of the implementation of the (June 2012) Geneva Communique and the formation of a national transitional government with full executive authority, including the military and security sectors."
The council was asked to "explicitly require this of all participants" in the hoped-for Geneva II conference, he said.
In May, following talks in Moscow between U.S. and Russian foreign ministers, the two countries announced they would work together to achieve a political solution to the Syria crisis, and agreed to convene an international conference in Geneva aimed at achieving this goal.
However, a date for the conference has not yet been set and talks are continuing on the best time for it to be held, who should participate, how it should be structured and some of the questions to be discussed.
"Finally, I told them that the Coalition is 100 percent committed to a pluralist, democratic Syria inclusive and with equal rights for all Syrians, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion," al-Jarba said.
The press session followed almost immediately after the latest meeting with members of the Security Council.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was at UN headquarters to preside over a council session on the Great Lakes region of Africa -- the United States holds the rotating seat of council president during the month of July -- invited al-Jarba and accompanying coalition representatives across the street from the UN complex to the U.S. mission for a private discussion.
That was followed later Thursday by another session, a few blocks north on UN Plaza, at the German Mission to the United Nations. Ambassador Peter Wittig of Germany had invited other permanent representatives to the world organization to a briefing session with the coalition group and it wasn't limited to council members. But the main session with council members was Friday at the invitation of British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant. "In the course of this discussion we covered a whole range of key issues including how to end the violence, the preparations for Geneva II Conference, humanitarian access, human rights, chemical weapons, refugees, protection of civilians and other issues," the British envoy told reporters.
"We heard a very positive message from President al-Jarba who made a very strong statement of commitment of the unity of Syria, to democracy and to plurality," Lyall Grant said. "He condemned extremism and he rejected terrorism. He expressed great concern about foreign forces, like the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps ( IRGC), like (Lebanon-based) Hezbollah, who are now operating inside Syria."
During the session in UNCA, the opposition accused the government of concentrating its military might on coalition member groups, rather than extremist groups who have joined in the fight against Assad in order to crush the coalition and if and when it agrees to the Geneva talks it would be able to say it won the fight against the opposition.
There have been allegations of chemical weapons use by the government and opposition groups.
The coalition said its members used only conventional weapons and said it was open to any investigation into its activities by the International Criminal Court. A UN team has entered Syria to discuss those allegations and a possible investigation.
The French permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Gerard Araud, told reporters after meeting with the coalition, " The presentation made by al-Jarba and the team around him .. it was very positive, very positive condemnation of extremism, condemnation of terrorism, aspiration to democracy and an unambiguous commitment to the Geneva II meeting."
"'In Geneva I we are supposed to have a transition government with full executive powers,'" Araud quoted al-Jarba. " He simply said, 'Full executive powers means, of course, the control of security: the army and the police. How can you imagine a real transition government, in the middle of a civil war, without control of the army and the security? It's all very clear all the executive powers and it means what it means.'"
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