Day One of National Salvation Front Meeting

I have received several reports from the first day of the two-day National Salvation Front conference that is being held at the Dorchester hotel in London. This is the meeting of the Syrian exiles who are trying to put together a program for changing the Syrian regime into a democracy. I have spliced together a few reports here by friends who wish to remain anonymous. I will post another by Sophia Hoffmann, a German journalist, who is willing to have her name used in my next post.
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The Dorchester was festooned with private security heavies posted all around the building. The organizers of the conference were clearly taking no chances. There were only a small handful of Anglophone journalists in attendance. Agence France Press had a journalist there, who has already filed this bloodless story.

The whole convention seems to have been very hush-hush. Friends at Asharq Al Awsat knew nothing about it and I think Al Hayat were equally in the dark. Apart from Al Hurra, both Al Jazeera and Radio Sawa had correspondents there.

There were perhaps 40 odd attendees, certainly no more than 50, who were not press. Many of the attendees had been at the previous conference in Paris at the end of September. Obeida Nahas, who runs the Levant Institute and is a member, or “close to,” the MB, was there and did an interview with the Iraqi woman journalist from Al Hurra, who will be covering the closing press conference live at 1400 BST tomorrow.

Bayanouni's speech was pretty standard fare, according to different reports. He kept referring to the regime as "the gang that controls Syria" with the occasional salam alaikums thrown in for good measure. Then the press got moved out whilst the participants, which included only two women - both veiled - got on with the job of plotting the regime's downfall.

One observer remarked that Khaddam reminded them “not so much of Gollom from Lord of the Rings, but rather your typical Soviet apparatchik.” An Israeli journalist asked Khaddam's rather portly son - Jihad - for an interview, but Jihad flatly refused as he had apparently already gotten bashed for having spoken earlier to an Arab-Israeli newspaper.

One participant complained that he bought coffee at the bar - £16 for three cups, and the stuff was no great shakes. "$30 bucks for that!" he complained. Khaddam told another journalist that he was a “good Muslim,” which must be comforting for his new partners.

Khaddam's English-speaking grandson had the most stature of the contingent with his bouncer physique and wrap-around shades. One journalist was told that Rifat al-Asad’s son was there, but he was unable to verify it. If he did attend, he kept a low profile.

Khaddam is scheduled to appear on BBC a few times in the upcoming days. An interview on "Hard Talk" will be aired next week. I will get the link when it is. He will also do "Newsnight Tonight." So stay tuned to BBC.

Here is a weblink to a BBC radio programme, giving background on the NSF meeting. Kim Ghattas reports from Damascus and interviews the wife of jailed human rights lawyer, Anwar al-Bunni. Khaddam is interviewed, and I do a little wrap-up bit. The show was done on Friday; and can be accessed for a week after transmission.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/worldtonight/