HNC Spokesman: A 'Scary Retreat' In U.S. Position Has Brought It Closer Than
Ever To Russia's, Iran's Positions. (
Memri).
Indirect
talks between the Syrian regime and Syrian opposition are scheduled to commence
in Geneva on January 29, 2016. Ahead of these talks, the recently established High
Negotiations Committee (HNC),
[1]
which is charged with nominating the opposition's delegation to the talks and steering
the talks on behalf of the opposition, has been heavily pressured to drop its
preconditions for beginning the talks, such as ceasing the bombardment of
civilians and lifting the siege from areas in Syria.
The HNC is also under
pressure to comply with Russian demands to change the makeup of the opposition
delegation and allow the participation of oppositionists who are close to
Russia and lenient in their positions vis-à-vis the Syrian regime, such as Qadri
Jamil and Haytham Manna'.
Most of the pressure on the HNC
actually came from the U.S. – which had been expected to support the Syrian
opposition and to counterbalance Russia's relentless backing of the Syrian
regime. In January 23, 2016, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Riyadh
with representatives of the HNC and of the opposition delegation.
According to HNC
members and according to many reports in the Arab media, at the meeting Kerry strongly
pressured on the opposition to accept Russian dictates. HNC members said that
Kerry, expressing "a scary retreat in the U.S. position," had
threatened that if they did not comply with Russian dictates they would lose
the support of their allies; he also clarified that their preconditions for the
talks – such as sending in humanitarian aid and lifting the siege from Syrian
cities – would be discussed in the talks themselves.
According to HNC members,
Kerry told them that Assad had the right to run in the future Syrian elections,
that UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura was entitled to intervene in
the makeup of the opposition delegation, and that the talks would lead to the
establishing of a national unity government. This contravenes the 2012 Geneva I
Communique
[2]
and effectively means leaving the Syrian regime in power.
Recent statements
by HNC members, who spoke of a "positive atmosphere," indicate that, in
spite of the HNC's sharp criticism of the
retreat in the U.S. position, it will likely be compelled to accept the
American dictates
and allow the participation of additional opposition elements in the
talks. Attending the talks will mean accepting the suggested agenda and
dropping the precondition of stopping the bombardment of the civilian
population and dispatching humanitarian aid.
This
document reviews reports on pressures exerted by Kerry on the Syrian opposition
and on the opposition's responses to this.
The spokesman of the HNC, Monzer
Makhous, said after the January 23 meeting with Kerry that "there has been
a scary retreat in the American position," and added:
"Kerry told us
today: You must go to Geneva on the terms that have been presented to you, otherwise
you will lose the support of your friends and allies." According to Makhous,
Kerry and Staffan de Mistura had said even earlier that they supported forming
a national unity government, and had instructed the HNC not to speak of Assad's
removal or establishing a transitional governing body with full powers. The
meaning of this, said Makhous, is that they support Iran's plan and have
completely renounced the Geneva I Communique.[3] He added: "The
American perception has grown closer to the Iranian-Syrian-Russian position
that speaks of forming a national unity government."[4] He noted, however, that
the "European friends" took a completely different stance and had had
emphasized that "Kerry's statements hold only for the U.S."[5]
An unnamed official
in the Syrian opposition told the London-based daily Al-'Arabi Al-Jadid
that Kerry's meeting with the HNC representatives was "tragic and very
bad," and added: "Kerry relayed clear messages that [originate with
the] Russians and Iranians, and threatened that the opposition must obey
them... He said that Geneva III would be [a round of] talks, rather than
negotiations, and that they would lead to the establishment of a national unity
government rather than a transitional governing body... Kerry told the HNC delegation
that UN envoy de Mistura was entitled to intervene in the makeup of the
opposition delegation and to appoint advisors [to the delegation], and that the
confidence-building steps that the opposition was demanding ahead of the Geneva
convention, such as releasing prisoners, lifting the siege from Syrian cities,
ceasing the bombardment of civilians, and dispatching humanitarian aid, etc., would
be part of the Geneva talks [themselves]...
Haytham Al-Maleh,
chair of the legal committee of the Syrian National Coalition, which
is represented in the HNC,
described Kerry as "a distorted copy of Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov."[7]
Columnist On Opposition Website:
Going To Geneva On Kerry's Terms Is Suicide. Read the full story here.
