"Meeting the National Salvation Front" by Sophia Hoffmann
I just received this wonderful write up of the NSF conference from Sophie Hoffmann, who I thank very much.
Dear Dr. Landis
Here are some tidbits from the press conference of the Front for National Unity meeting, held in London this afternoon, June 5, 2006.
It was held in a backroom of the elegant Dorchester Hotel, tight security reigned. About dozen Arab journalists and a handful of foreigners found there way to the meeting. Only about 15 minutes late, Khaddam, Bayanouni and their entourage rolled through the doors and filled the room. In attendance were a couple of women wearing hijabs; the rest were men in 50s wearing grey suits. One representative from each of the nine groups that form the National Salvation Front took seats on the panel. Khaddam, aging, but still handsome, sat next to the mild mannered Sadraddine Baynouni who had on his gold-rim spectacles.
The conference kicked off with one of the Muslim Brothers giving an eloquent and impressive overview of the findings of the conference. I will summarize his words:
"The NSF is calling for the same thing that the people in Syria's prisons call for. We are not an alternative to other opposition groups in Syria but are one of them and we have the same demands. We want to have a country based on democratic pluralism and in 2006 want free elections that express the will of the people, with no special group taking a larger share of power. We want a constitution made by all people.
"The favoritism of the Alawi sect creates discord in Syria. We believe that Alawis and Muslims are part of the same general society and know that Alawis, like all other Syrians, are the victims of the corrupt family ruling Syria; they will be a major partner in the rebuilding of Syria.
"The Baath Party also has been a victim of the regime and we call on all Baath members to help us free Syria from this regime.
"We welcome all other groups to join us and we call all other opposition groups - liberals, Marxists, etc. to align with us.
"The NSF has picked its Central Committee [names not mentioned] and have established a common agreement between the different members.
"We have formed a transition government that in six months will:
1 - Reinstitute the 1950 constitution until a new constitution has been created
2 - Exercise executive power
3 - Rescind the state of emergency that restricts the human rights of the Syrian people, in particular law 49 that makes membership of the brotherhood punishable by death
5 - Give nationality to Syrian Kurds
6 - Cancel all decrees with regards to appropriated assets and return them to their rightful owners"
The speaker continuously emphasized the suffering of the Syrian people, sometimes singling out particular groups that had "also suffered" - like the Alawis or Baathists. He called on the UN, the UNSC and the great powers to take a stance that will protect the Syrian people's rights and to end the current regime of corruptness.
After his speech the floor was opened for questions - the Arab journos kicked off and clarified that:
- The NSF is against foreign intervention and, this was then continuously emphasized throughout the conference - change has to come from the Syrian people and from within.
Asked how exactly they imagined this to happen, Khaddam - who spoke quietly and was quite passive throughout - stated that they could not discuss their agreed upon tactics with the press. He also said that a number of Alawis had already joined them but that their names couldn't be revealed for security reasons. "Every Alawi opposing the regime will be punished twice as hard as anyone else for criticizing the regime", he said.
The Kurdish issue loomed fairly large due to the presence of a Kurdish reporter, who even address one question in Kurdish to a Kurdish member of the panel and insisted successfully that he reply in Kurdish. The NSF is clearly keen to get the Kurds on board and is promising them what they want. The Kurdish panelist even said that he was for a federal solution in Syria in the long run, but that this had been opposed by other members of the front and therefore was not part of the NSF’s agenda. (Remarkable ability for compromise!)
One juicy Khaddam quote before I have to leave:
"I do not regret my role in Lebanon and as we all know, without Syria's intervention at the time, Lebanon would not exist today. I do not want to enter into details of the Lebanon question now, but I will speak on this topic very soon and you will see what mistakes were made by Syria and also by the others. I will try to be objective in this attempt."
In this moment, I looked at his face and wondered: at which meetings was this man present, what historical decisions did he witness, and how much of his knowledge is he going to reveal to the world - much to the dismay of the Asads of today?
All the best
Sophia Hoffmann
Sophie Hoffman has just returned from six months in Syria, where she worked as a journalist for “Syria Today” and IRIN. She can be reached at sophia.hoffmann@web.de
22 Comments:
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I think that this is the beginning of the end, the opposition seems getting stronger, and with the final report of Brammertz in a couple of days, the Syrian regime is suffering more than ever. A friend of mine was at the National Salvation Front meeting in London, and apparently things are going really well for them. They are willing to work with any opposition (except rifaat al assad) and that is getting them more and more supporters. I was in syria a couple of days ago and I can assure you that the growing popularity of this party is internal as well, people are really optimistic of what this can bring to them.
Nevertheless they are still worried about how the change will occur, and who will come after the assad regime. That is one of the reasons why the NSF held a meeting in London, and apparently they have a plan for the transition. As for the next government, according to them, no party will have full control, power will be shared and leaders will be chosen by the people.
I noticed that they differentiated between the Alawat and the muslems counting the Alawat as non muslems,I wonder how thw Syrian will look at that.
I recently read about a new opposition party called the Haraqat Al Adala Wal Bina'a (that is modelled after the AKP in Turkey) which claims to have the support of 'some European politicians', as well people within Syria and officials within the AKP. Apparently it is led by someone named Anas al-Abdah, although I have not heard of him or the party until today. Does anyone know if they are involved at all in the ongoing meetings in London? Actually, does anyone know anything about them? From what I gather the party are just admirers of the AKP in Turkey and not a movement with any sort of support within Syria or any coherent political program for that matter.
We live in a tired time. We are supressed almost to the floor, lost in its tiles. I hear news every eve and think for a moment...things are better. Ahh free trade in tartous. But will it be fair my friends.
All we can do is dabble in the dust it seems, the conquered. The romans spring from this memory. Oh the ottomans appear in a moment. And the americans in the next. Some coming morning they will leave this place. But I will still be on the floor with my brothers boot to my neck. I am 330 million and I am alone.
Harbook:
curious, where does this piece of prose come from?
zenobia
I noticed a handfull of links to others websites but I couldn't help noticing that www.free-syria.com wasen't included eventhough it one of the most important sources of information for syrians. I was just wondering if this had any political causes....
With regards to the Alawi/Muslim question. at the conference, a journalist asked very directly: do the Muslim Brothers regard Alawis as inferior muslims or unbelievers? Bayanouni himself answered and stressed that this was not so, that it was in fact the regime spreading this suspicion in order to raise Alawis fears and repeated several times "Alawis are muslims, we regard them as muslims, we do no regard them as unbelievers." How many of his followers agree is another question of course.
With regards to the Alawi/Muslim question. at the conference, a journalist asked very directly: do the Muslim Brothers regard Alawis as inferior muslims or unbelievers? Bayanouni himself answered and stressed that this was not so, that it was in fact the regime spreading this suspicion in order to raise Alawis fears and repeated several times "Alawis are muslims, we regard them as muslims, we do no regard them as unbelievers." How many of his followers agree is another question of course.
I wonder how long this apparent teamwork/compromise would last back in the real world. It’s somewhat similar to the March 14 alliance in Lebanon. They are united by their hate for one entity, but once that entity is gone each will go back to their old ways in reaching their old and contradictory goals. With the later having nothing to do with democracy.
Some might argue that this is the reality of multi-party politics and I couldn’t agree more. BUT, the ideologies of the main players here are not interested in such democratic ventures. Islamic fundamentalists, very corrupt ex-Ba’athists, separation advocates etc. Call me a pessimist but I just don’t see it working.
i tend to disgree with Innocent Criminal,
First of all, they do have the same ideologies, and that is to build a democratic government that will be able to lead the country.
The MB weren't as bloody as the syrian regime, and I think that they did all this because they had to.
As for khaddam, there is no proof what so ever that he is corrupt,
so even if your pessimistic, you should start seeing the road to a better syria
"The MB weren't as bloody as the syrian regime, and I think that they did all this because they had to.
As for khaddam, there is no proof what so ever that he is corrupt,"
somebody please call a doctor the man is hallucinating
They are all corrupted, both Syrian regime and Khaddam& company.The MB's too has a long way to be in the re-trusted ZONE for sure. until then, we need to see more opposition players come out and face the regime!!
Anyone!! :-)
I would like this opposition to discuss its views for post-assad Syria regional peaceful role and its strategy for peace with Israel, its relationship with the big powers, its lifting of Syria's isolation, good relations with Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.
Also discuss some internal problems like the exploding population growth, women liberty, improving people life, reducing muslim extremism, making guarantees to Christian and other minorities that their situation and role would be preserved and improved unlike what happened in Iraq, opening the country up politically, allowing freedom of expressions and choice of life-style. Explaining that freedom of worship is a personal choice and Syria is for all Syrians. Also political choices should be allowed and so is freedom of press. Syrians need to be more open minded about a lot of things for any chance of progress.
The Assad regime is so weak but no one cares about the opposition until they start offering solutions and face Syria's realities and problems. I applaud the position on some issues like the kurdish one but they need to open up more critical issues and take a look at themselves and start helping Syria while in opposition...
Being in power is the easy step but Syrians are skeptical of their rulers and they analyse the opposition more they do for the regime because they can and because they are affraid of shooting themselves in the foot. Having one eye is better than being Blind as the saying goes.
Also the iraq war and the taming of the society by the regime does not help at all, people suffered a lot but they don't see alternatives and they don't want to jump into the unknown, they prefer a controlled society rather than chaos...
I am affraid to say that the US and big powers see all these problems and they don't have any solution for it, and they don't care. Status quo is fine for them despite all the rethorics of the last few years.
Good luck Opposition but we need to start seeing a changing society (and you have a role to play even before overthrowing the regime), a less religeous society, a less emotional society, a more open minded society, it is a long journey but we have to start somewhere...
For a better Syria
Freesyria.wordpress.com
I am sorry Innocent Criminal but i should you are the one who needs to see a doctor...
When a government goes in a city IN ITS OWN COUNTRY and shoots everyone women, children, elder and when it goes inside a prison (tadmur) and tells everyone that they are free, just to use helicopters and heavy arms on them as soon as they go out seems pretty bloody to me. And don't worry even if you are a christian, the MB aren't for the association between government and religion. All religions will be accepted and treated equally. As for khaddam, do you have one proof that this man is corrupt, or are you just repeating stuff you heard on SANA. As long as you don't have at least one proof, I would rather not read any of your unreliable comments.
And i think Fares is right, the opposition needs to show us what they plan to do. Very nice comment.
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The new front is a real improvment from the syrian opposition,yes khaddam as any important baathist was likely corrupt but politic is based on realism and interests and a peaceful change can not happen without baathists,de- baathification is not in the agenda of the syrian opposition.
Here is some thing that the opposition needs to read
Why Christians in Syria support the Current Regime? or do they?
For a better Syria
Fares
Let's all prey there would be the least possible chaos if this hopeful transition ever took place in Syria. However optimism is vital for us to survive, things are not likely to change overnight even if the family is gone. Remember it's actually more than just a family, it's a whole system which has been there for few decades.
On another note, I guess few, probably none, of those in the Front for National Unity, had set views for tackling the big issues like the economy or peace with Israel. These are imprtant bargaining cards and none of our politicians will ever spread them on the table. The kurdish response about having his own mind about federalism that is not agreed on by the rest reveals as much.
However, let's not forget that the sole objective of this Front is to gather support to get rid of Asad, and nothing else. It's a front made for a specific purpose, and not a unified party.
And only Asad, not Baath,only the ruling family. Did you notice that? This is really difficult to imagine: The Baath, at the vital moment, withdraws his loyality from Asad, giving it to the rebels. The army is expected to do the same. I understand the Front is chasing every possible ally. And it's doubtless they would find a lot of supporters in honest and educated Baath members. But the Baath as a whole organization? sorry I still can't picture it. And hold on a second, what were we trying to do in the first place, if we ended up, after only a couple genosides and wiped out mountain villages, with Baath getting %80 instead of %98, and our freedom to elect either Khadam or Bainouni Gold Glasses, and permission for Kurds to loose the mobs once every four month in one northern city. And we can't live without Mukhabarat, can we?
... And I don't trust this modern Bainouni character. Being modern and soft only makes me stick to my survival skills paranoia. Does being modern means he's got double the dogma the traditional Islamist has?. The answer is probably:"Aha". Honestly I never heard him speak though. Did any?
He answered the question about the Alawiti as an Imam not a politician and party leader. Alawitis are Syrians and that's it. It's their business if they were Muslems or not. Or is it not only their business Mr. Bainouni?
I still can't see how these people are going to pull this off. Khadam only said, in the Arabia interview I guess, that there will be no forign interference, only "civil disobedience". What civil disobedience, what is he talking about?! If we're looking at Khaddam arranging a white coup d'tate while Bainouni provides public support, they would definitly rely on the Baath and the army, while the streets will go fundemental by enthusiast MB crowd. So the Front would be true to their word, and "The Family" will be replaced by another family, because all the rest should be actually supporting the change. So, they will give us nothing but cosmitics and chewing gum for a long time before they can apply reforms to the institutions that gave them power. Don't get me wrong, ANY change is welcome. But we're in for a long ride my friends, and it's not going to be a high ride soon. So use your Syrian survival kit: Be optimist, but reasonably!
Is this the end of our Syria ?
After reading about the NSF meeting in London, i felt pain deep in me. i said here we go, now the last piece of puzzle has fell in place, the trouble spots have surrounded Syria from all sides for a long time,and it was just a matter of time before the "illness" crosses the border. Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq, the shock waves are felt in the heart of Syria, and thanks to NSF and alikes, the disaster is fast approaching, with dazzling speed. I stongly believe in the democracy that is being practices in the west, but i don`t believe that it is workable in Syria, or anywhere else in the Middle East. our societies are profoundly different from those of the west, and are several light years away from reaching their level.I could talk about this for ever, but let me go back to the NSF meeting in london and what i believe would happen if they succeed in getting the throne of Damascus. Syria is as vulnerable country as Lebanon or Iraq, our people are no more coherent than them, and at first things might seem to work out. but once you pull up the lid of the bee-hive, there is no tuning back. Here is what is going to happen: In my humble opinion, Syria eventually will sink into a civil war, the trouble shall first start in the far east, in the Kurdish areas,this is their once-in-a-liftime chance to split up, while the Americans are here to back them, and the Turks won`t dare to move a finger. Don`t buy whatever the Kurds say at the NSF meeting, they are going for it the moment the current situation changes. Then the tit for tat killing would start, revenge from the Alawis would start. The ethnic clensing would begin in the big cities like Damascus,Aleppo,Hama, and Homs. that shall be countered by attacks against Sunnis in the coastal areas, and before you know it, Israel would offer the rest unoccupied part of the Golan Heights to the Druze and help them create an ethnic barrier that extends from Jabal Al Druze all the way to the Chouf Mountains in Lebanon. The end results are : Syria would split up into four entities. Sunnis, or Muslims as the Byanoni would prefer to say, from the heartland of Syria. Alawis at the coastal areas in the west of Syria. The Druze in the south west. and last but not the least the Kurds in the far notheast of the country waiting to be united with their brothern in the Iraqi Kurdistan areas. Do you think this is far fetched, well, if we live long enough we shall see. I lived in Syria most of my life, i did my mandatory military service, where i travelled the country and saw the real Syria, and i know from the depth of my heart that democracy is not, at least not yet, for us.We are still a very conservative somewhat backward society. We no nothing about respect for minorities, no respect for the other opposing opinion, we could never understand the equal rights to women. Ours is a society that is crying for help, in the form of real grass root education, a long term grooming. Those who are singing the song of democracy know it, but their goal is the throne, regardless. I hope time proves me wrong, for i truely love my old home country, and pray to God to keep it safe.
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