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| Haytam Manna' (right) who met Lavrov in Moscow March 11 is now in the U.S. |
I singled out one.
Raghida
Dergham today lists the other six in her weekly think piece for pan-Arab
al-Hayat.
So let me start with hers.
Filing for al-Hayat
from New York, the American-Lebanese seasoned political
analyst high spots her six:
1. A reversal of
Obama One’s interpretation of the June 2012 Geneva framework concerning Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s role in a political transition. Obama Two’s new
Secretary of State John Kerry is now saying, “We want to see Assad and the
Syrian opposition come to the table for the creation of a transitional
government according to the framework that was created in Geneva.”
2. A preemptive
blow to the GCC partners in the countdown to the March 26-27 Arab summit in
Doha after the Saudi-Qatari push to describe Assad as having lost his
legitimacy and chosen to destroy the country in order to hang on to power.
3. A submission to the Russian position
that Assad is a “red line.” The hope is that Kerry’s concession to the Russians
will be counterbalanced by concessions they can win from the Syrian regime.
4. A dawn of contradictions,
rashness or a distribution of roles involving the United States, the United
Kingdom and France. Kerry designating Assad by name as kosher interlocutor is
irreconcilable with the positions of his British and French counterparts and
allies in the UN Security Council. Kerry’s position is equally at odds with
Hillary Clinton’s.
5. A shot in the
arm to the mission of Syria troubleshooter Lakhdar Brahimi, who wants to
dissociate the Assad Gordian knot from the commencement of dialogue and
negotiation.
6. A pull of the
rug from under the Syrian National Coalition’s feet in that Kerry’s bolt out of
the blue risks splintering SNC ranks and forcing the resignation or dismissal
of its leader Moaz al-Khatib.
My seventh signal of the U.S. policy shift:
Within 72 hours of his talks with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Syrian dissident Haytham Manna’ – who is outwith the
SNC and is a strong critic of the Free Syrian Army -- landed in the United
States for presumed talks with its National Security Council and State
Department officials.
Here’s how State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland handled
questions about Manna’s visit in her press briefing yesterday:
Q.: There’s a Syrian opposition delegation --
MS. NULAND: (Sneezes.) Excuse me.
Q.: Bless you.
Q.: Bless you.
Q.: -- that will be in town later this week, or maybe next week,
with – headed by Mr. Manna’. Any meetings they are holding here at this
building?
MS. NULAND: This is a different Syrian opposition
group, or this is some – or representatives from the SOC [Syrian Opposition
Coalition]? I’m not sure I know which meeting we’re talking about.
Q: He – no, no. Mr. Manna’ is not with the SOC.
MS. NULAND: I will have to check on that one. I don’t
know about that meeting.
Q.: Is there a delegation of the SOC?
MS. NULAND: No. We haven’t yet, as we said
yesterday, set dates with them for their visit to Washington.
Q.: I just wanted to follow up. Are you in contact with Mr.
Haytham Manna’? He’s a quite a national figure in Syria – resides in France, I
think.
MS. NULAND: I would guess
that Ambassador Ford and his team do have contact with him. If that is not the
case, we’ll let you know.
But overnight
Manna’ himself posted the following on his
Facebook page:
A delegation of Syrians will be
visiting New York on March 13-15 and Washington on March 17-20 in pursuit of
peace. The delegation, associated with The Democratic Civil Alliance (DCA) that
emerged as a follow up to the “Geneva Declaration” of January 29. It represents
a broad coalition committed to non-violence, democracy, pluralism and
non-sectarianism and unites around a clear political plan for a negotiated
solution in Syria based on the Geneva Communiqué of June 2012. Delegation
members are seeking meetings with policymakers, experts, diplomats, UN staff,
media and NGOs.
The DCA, considered to be one of
the largest and most influential within Syria, brings together well-known
Syrian human rights activists, professionals, political parties, and civil
society groups, many of who have worked within the National Coordination Body
for Democratic Change and Building The Syrian State current. Sharply critical
of the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad and his violent repression, these
Syrians are also critical of the increasingly militarized rebellion, the
foreign arms flowing to both sides of the military conflict, and the Islamic
fundamentalist influence within the rebel military forces. The Democratic Civil
Alliance brought together all these forces around very solid and clear plan for
negotiated political solution. They are reaching out to all Syrian players,
political, civil society or even military players to join this alliance to find
a safe solution for the country that puts an end to the violence that started
spilling over the borders and is forming the perfect nurturing environment for
extremism.
The mainstream international media
tend to ignore the large secular and democratic movement within Syrian society
and the complex multi-religious and multi-cultural nature of Syria, where there
is broad opposition to a post-conflict Islamic government and fear of reprisals
and of ongoing conflict after the fall of the dictatorship. The delegation
reflects this perspective and aspires to find the broadest international
support for its political plans. The three-member team has important political
roles in the Syrian internal political scene.
Delegation members:
Dr.
Haytham Manna’ has been a Syrian human rights
advocate for over three decades. Manna was born in Syria and studied medicine
at the University of Damascus. He now lives in Paris where he practices
medicine and is the lead external spokesperson for The Democratic Civil Alliance.
He has won awards for his human rights work from, among others, Human Rights
Watch and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He is co-founder of the Arab
Commission for Human Rights and has served in leading roles in several other
human rights organizations. He is the president of the National Coordination
Body for Democratic Change in exile and the vice-president of the Syrian-based
branch of the organization.
Dr
Rim Turkmani is a founding member of the Building The
Syrian State current which has made prominent cease-fire plans, worked to
organize peacemaking groups at the local level and cooperated with UN Special
Representatives Kofi Annan and Lakhdar Brahimi to promote a negotiated
political solution. She is also a member of the executive committee of The
Democratic Civil Alliance
She is an Astrophysicist at the
Imperial College in London and is a specialist in the history of Arabic/Islamic
science and its influence on the West. She has published many papers and books
both on scientific and historical topics. She is the founder and co-chair of
The Damask Rose Trust, a UK-based charity that supports development and
education in Syria.
James
Paul, senior advisor at Global Policy Forum
and author of Syria Unmasked (Yale Press), and Mel Duncan, advocacy director of Nonviolent Peace Force, will host
the visit. Both attended the Geneva Conference on Syria in January.
