"Friends of Syria" embrace opposition’s Coalition

Representatives of more than 60 countries meeting in Tokyo welcomed Friday the formation of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

The "Friends of Syria" also “urged other opposition factions to join the Coalition” and called on members of “the armed forces and the financial and business community to distance themselves from the regime and support the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.“

At a meeting in the Japanese capital, the group's fifth since its inception, they called for a full oil embargo on Syria.

In its closing statement, “The Group reiterated its call on all states to impose an embargo on Syrian petroleum products and a ban on the provision of insurance and reinsurance for shipments of Syrian petroleum products.”

Presently, the United States bans the import of Syrian oil and gas, but the European Union does not.

Following is the full text of the group’s closing statement carried by PanOrient News:

TOKYO, JAPAN, 30 NOVEMBER 2012

1. The Friends of the Syrian People International Working Group on Sanctions (‘the Group’) held its fifth meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on 30 November 2012. Under the mandate given by the Ministerial meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People in Istanbul on 1 April, the meeting built upon and endorsed the outcomes of the meetings held by the Group in Paris on 17 April, in Washington, D.C. on 6 June, in Doha on 19 July, and in The Hague on 20 September. Japan, Morocco, and EEAS (European External Action Service) co-chaired the meeting. On behalf of the host government, Mr. Koichiro Gemba, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, delivered the opening address. 63 countries as well as the League of Arab States, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the European Union were represented at the meeting. Also present was the Syrian Economic Task Force, who attended on behalf of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces. The Group welcomed the participation of four new countries, including three from Asia, further underlining the international community’s growing determination to bring about an end to the repression and a political solution to the crisis in Syria as soon as possible.

2. Gravely alarmed by the escalation of violence in Syria, and the spillover of the crisis into the entire region, the Group condemned in the strongest terms the incessant killings, bombings of residential areas, and destruction as well as the systematic and gross violation of human rights in Syria, and reiterated its call for the Syrian regime, in the first place, to stop the violence. It also called upon those countries, groups and individuals that are actively supporting the Syrian regime’s ruthless efforts to suppress the political aspirations of the Syrian people to cease their support.

3. The Group deplored the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Syria, called upon the Syrian regime to grant full and unimpeded access for all affected civilians to humanitarian assistance, and urged the international community to respond to appeals by the United Nations and its humanitarian partners and provide urgent financial support to address the growing humanitarian needs of the Syrian population, both for the civilians in Syria affected by the conflict and for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, which are bearing the major burden in this regard.

4. The Group is committed to the sovereignty, independence, national unity and territorial integrity of Syria. The Group reaffirmed its unwavering support for the rightful and legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people for a peaceful, democratic, pluralistic, and inclusive society, free of any sectarianism or discrimination on any grounds, and committed to stand by them until their aspirations are fulfilled. In this regard, the Group expressed its full support for Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Lakhdar Brahimi, for his assiduous efforts to bring about an end to the conflict and achieve a peaceful transition to building the new Syria in a swift manner. In this respect, the Group noted that the Arab League has urged the Security Council to pass a resolution pertaining to declare an immediate cease-fire.

5. The Group welcomed the results of the Doha meetings on 11 November 2012 and the formation of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, encouraged them to prepare for a prompt, peaceful, and inclusive transition, and urged other opposition factions to join the Coalition so as to create an inclusive and all embracing body. It looks forward to working with this newly designed opposition umbrella organization in order to enhance the effectiveness of the restrictive measures.

6. While the responsibility for the violence lies with the Syrian regime, the Group condemned all terrorist acts in Syria, which undermine the objectives of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces and further perpetuate the conflict in Syria.

7. The Group called on all members of the international community, especially members of the United Nations Security Council, to take swift, responsible and resolute action in solidarity with the Syrian people and to increase pressure on the Syrian regime by implementing and enforcing measures to deny it access to the resources needed for its violent campaign against its own population.

8. The Group welcomed the targeted and coordinated sanctions implemented by Group member countries and organizations to increase pressure on the Syrian regime and isolate it from the international community as a means of ending the repression in Syria. These measures have helped to hamper the ability of the Syrian regime to crack down on the Syrian people, inter alia, by cutting off major sources of income previously derived from the export of oil and other goods, by freezing the assets of those involved in or supporting the repression of the Syrian people, and by exercising vigilance to prevent the transfer of weapons and related goods to Syria. The Group recognized that a continued concerted multinational effort is necessary to further isolate the Syrian regime and deprive it of the financial resources and support needed to sustain its campaign of violent repression of the legitimate political aspirations of the Syrian people.

9. The Group renewed its commitment to improve the implementation and the enforcement of those sanctions already in place and to exercise enhanced vigilance to prevent evasion of sanctions by the Syrian regime, including by seeking alternative markets for its crude oil, and urged international partners not to purchase Syrian oil and gas products. The Group reiterated its resolve to ensure that sanctions against the Syrian regime and its affiliates are effectively implemented to hasten the end of the regime’s oppression of the Syrian people. In this regard, the Group commended the efforts of Syria’s neighbors to impose sanctions against the Syrian regime despite adverse effects on their own economy and called for other countries, including those neighbors of Syria that have not implemented restrictive measures, to impose similar sanctions.

10. With a view to reinforcing the effectiveness of current sanctions and increasing pressure upon the Syrian regime, the Group called on all states to take steps, in their own capacity, by imposing, at a minimum, an asset freeze on senior Syrian regime officials involved in the repression, as well as an asset freeze on, and restrictions on transactions with, major banks tied with the Syrian regime such as the Central Bank of Syria, the Commercial Bank of Syria and the Syrian International Islamic Bank, in order to prevent circumventing measures adopted by the Syrian regime.

11. The Group reiterated its call on all states to impose an embargo on Syrian petroleum products and a ban on the provision of insurance and reinsurance for shipments of Syrian petroleum products. The Group also reiterated its call on all states to impose a ban on arm shipments and military technical assistance to Syria and on the provision of insurance and reinsurance for third country arms shipments toward Syria.

12. The Group called on the international financial and business communities to diligently comply with ongoing and forthcoming measures against the Syrian regime. The Group strongly encouraged institutions and enterprises in those countries that have not joined the international sanctions regime to refrain from engaging in business with entities affiliated with those responsible for and contributing to the violence in Syria, or risk being exposed to a severe reputational risk.

13. The Group emphasized that sanctions do not target the civilian population of Syria but are aimed at the Syrian regime and its supporters. Expressing its solidarity with the Syrian people, the Group steadfastly maintained that the current and forthcoming measures are carefully targeted, including by reinforcing well-designed exceptions for humanitarian transactions satisfying the needs of the civilian population in Syria, so that innocent citizens of Syria do not suffer unjustly and unintentionally from these measures. The Group underlined that the economic hardship faced by the Syrian people is the consequence of the policies and actions of the Syrian regime.

14. The Group commended the courage shown by those who have defected from the Syrian regime and committed to promptly lift sanctions against them, as appropriate. The Group called on all those working for the Syrian regime, the armed forces and the financial and business community to distance themselves from the regime and support the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, or face further isolation from the international community and the international economic and financial system.

15. The Group agreed that there is an increasing need for the Syrians and the whole international community to prepare for the future reconstruction of Syria. In this regard, the Group called upon members to be prepared to swiftly review and lift sanctions including in key economic sectors, where appropriate, in a coordinated manner when a credible and irreversible transition process moves forward, in order to eliminate obstacles to the recovery and development of the Syrian economy and facilitate efforts to rebuild the country, including through the recovery and return of assets misappropriated by the Syrian regime and its affiliates.

16. The Group also stressed that, for a swift, peaceful, and inclusive transition and successful reconstruction, the Working Groups on Sanctions and on Economic Recovery and Development should continue to progress in tandem and expressed its will to maintain close coordination between the two Working Groups.

17. The Group committed to continue to share information on measures taken to increase the pressure on the Syrian regime. Recalling the call by the Group to establish ways to ensure continued coordination in between meetings, it thanked the Netherlands and the United States for publicizing the current sanctions regimes and the list of competent authorities, which will be updated as needed.

18. The International Working Group on Sanctions will hold its sixth meeting in Bulgaria in February 2013.

Moaz al-Khatib’s open letter to the Syrian people

Moaz al-Khatib is the head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. He put out this open letter today in Arabic

Khatib (left) with the German foreign minister in Cairo yesterday

O great people of Syria,

Our brothers and sisters and kinsfolk of fortitude, patience and purity!

I reiterate my gratitude to everyone who wrote an alphabetical character or raise a hand in prayer. I apologize for not writing back due to time-pressure.

In brief: I met yesterday with the foreign ministers of Germany and France. They promised good things to come. In the evening, France recognized your Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

Congratulations to you on this step.

I want to explain to you something on which I need your help.

Syria is a dangerous area in the world. They won’t lift the regime’s political cover without ascertaining we can manage our country.

Likewise, they won’t offer relief or military assistance in the absence of a cohesive body managing the country.

Consequently, first of all, we need to unite. We don’t want someone coming on air to make a statement ruining everything and giving the impression that we are torn asunder.

Our objective is to bring down the regime. Everything else would follow.

I implore every opposition side to establish contact with us, to support us.

If anyone is looking for a post, I could serve as his subordinate to win him over and have him help bring down this regime.

I beg you. One misguided statement will destroy the country.

Recognition is the Syrian people’s gateway to win financial support. Therein comes the role of the Interim Government we are now trying to set up. We would be able to buy arms straight from the hip to bring down the regime.

Today, the United States made its recognition of the Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people conditional on the Coalition demonstrating its ability to represent the Syrian people.

This is a historic moment. I beseech God that we don’t disappoint you. But please don’t let us down.

I want the coming Friday’s slogans to be thus: “Obama, don’t worry -- we stand by the Coalition.” I want streamers thanking the French president and placards saying, “The Syrian people are one” and “No extremism and no terror.” You need not use the same words, but their meaning.

I want the Military Councils to raise the Coalition’s banner under the flag of the Revolution. I want the Syrian people’s nature to come across without the venting of intemperate thoughts.

I want you to circulate this post by all means possible and relay it to civilians and the military.

I tell you: gather your courage. We want to bring down this regime as soon as possible. Our executive structures will be in place imminently. Our Interim Government is being mulled over and formed. (I repeat here that both the Coalition and Interim Government will disband once the regime collapses.)

Believe me, our people are our taskwork. With God’s help, we shall be up to the task.

I met yesterday with Lady Ashton, who is responsible for the EU’s Foreign Affairs. They wish us to have an Interim Government and show we are genuine and that the Syrian people are on our side.

Soon, in consultation with my colleagues, I will be talking to the media about important matters that could provide us with a shortcut. I trust in God we will be able to topple the tyrant of Damascus before the Revolution’s second anniversary. Muster your courage and come together.

Our martyrs’ souls are hovering over us. Our women are behind bars. Hundreds of thousands of our young men are in captivity. Our people are in disaster areas. They have become refugees or internally displaced. They are insecure and live in devastated homes. All this is our obligation. We need vigor and hard work.

Get started and God be with you.

France puts U.S., UK & Arabs in the shade on Syria

French President Hollande at his press conference

France Tuesday became the first Western country to formally and unequivocally recognize Syria's newly formed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as “the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”

President François Hollande announced the move at his first televised news conference at the helm in Paris.

He told reporters at the Élysée Palace, “I announce today that France recognizes the Syrian National Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and thus as the future transitional government of a democratic Syria, allowing it to bring down the curtain on Bashar al-Assad's regime. Wherever liberated zones are established, they should come under its [the Coalition’s] authority.”

Hollande said France would look at the question of arming the Coalition, but that it would not support doing so "as long as it wasn't clear where these weapons went".

"With the Coalition, as soon as it is a legitimate government of Syria, this [arming] question will be looked at by France, but also by all countries that recognize this government," he said.

The Obama administration’s attitude vis-à-vis the Syrian opposition body it helped create in Doha earlier this week remains overtly ambivalent.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told Tuesday’s press briefing Washington recognized the National Coalition as a legitimate representative, but stopped short of describing it as a sole representative, saying the group must first demonstrate its ability to represent Syrians inside the country.

Here is how Toner put it:

“We did issue a statement the other day congratulating the representatives of the Syrian people who gathered in Doha for their formation of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. We look forward, obviously, to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course for the end of Assad’s bloody rule and marks the start, we believe, of a peaceful, just, and democratic future for the people of Syria.

“Obviously, we’re going to work with them in the coming days to ensure that our humanitarian and nonlethal assistance serves the needs of the Syrian people. In answer to your – in direct answer to your question, what happens now or what are you looking for next, I think we now have a structure in place that can prepare for a political transition, but that we’re looking for it to still establish the types of technical committees that will allow us to make sure our assistance gets to the right places, both nonlethal and humanitarian…

“We do think this is a legitimate representative of the Syrian people, that it does reflect the Syrian people, as we talked about, that diverse group of Syrian people. We think it meets those needs. I think as we move forward though, we’re going to look to see it, as I said, finalize the establishment of its organizational structures. We also want to see that it has a demonstrated ability to represent Syrians within Syria. I think that’s another aspect we’re going to look at…”

The United Kingdom was far more evasive than the United States.

British Foreign Minister William Hague, speaking at the Arab League in Cairo on the same day as Hollande and Toner, said the opposition Coalition must gain support from within Syria.

"That is a very crucial consideration, and if they do these things well then yes we would then be able to recognize them as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people," he said.

France has now gone further than even the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in their respective recognitions of the opposition Coalition.

While Paris recognized it as “the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people,” the League of Arab states described it simply as “the legitimate representative and principal interlocutor with the Arab League.”

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) grouping Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman spoke softheartedly of the new Syrian body as “the legitimate representative of the brotherly Syrian people.”

Meet Syria’s new opposition coalition leaders

Khatib (center) surrounded clockwise from left: Seif, yet unnamed Kurdish rep, Atassi and Sabbagh 

Moaz al-Khatib, a soft-spoken Muslim Sunnite preacher and former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, will head the newly created National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (see my post yesterday, “The Syrian opposition’s Doha agreement”).

The Coalition, formed after a week of talks among Syrian opposition groups in Doha, will have two vice-presidents -- prominent dissident Riad Seif and leading secular activist Suhair Atassi – and a secretary-general, Mustafa Sabbagh.

A representative nominated by the Kurdish opposition will fill the post of third vice-president.

President Moaz al-Khatib was born in Damascus in 1960. He is a member of the Syrian Geological Society and the Syrian Society for Psychological Science. He was previously President and remains Honorary President of the Islamic Society of Urbanization. He has been guest speaker in the United Kingdom, the U.S., Turkey, Holland, Bosnia and Nigeria. He is married and the father of four children: Aman, Abdurrahman, Asma and Hashem. He left Damascus for Cairo in July after four bouts of detention by the Syrian authorities. As he signed the agreement that formed the Coalition with Syrian National Council (SNC) head George Sabra, Khatib called on the international community to “fulfill its pledges.”

First Vice President Riad Seif, 66 and ailing, is the godfather of the Coalition, having developed and drafted its blueprint with U.S. backing. A prominent businessman, he was elected to the Syrian parliament as an independent in 1994 and again in 1998. He founded and led the Forum for National Dialogue, which earned him five years behind bars ending in 2006. He was again arrested in early 2008 and imprisoned for trying to "overthrow the government," in reference to his work as a leader in the Damascus Declaration. He was held once more in May 2011 in Damascus.

Second Vice President Suhair Atassi, 41, is a secular political activist who runs the Jamal Atassi Forum group on Facebook, which is an offshoot of the banned Jamal Atassi Forum in Syria. The forum named after her late father calls for political reform and the reinstatement of civil rights in Syria. She was beaten and detained for her involvement in protests at the start of Syria's uprising in March 2011, before going into hiding and being smuggled out of the country late last year. Now an exile living in Paris, she is trying to drum up support for humanitarian aid in Syria.

Secretary-General Mustafa Sabbagh is a 1965 native of Latakia now residing in Jeddah. He heads the Syrian Business Forum, which was founded at Doha last June. Three of the Forum’s seven board members are businessmen still based in Syria. The Forum is helping fund the Syrian revolution.

Election of the leaders followed the signing of an agreement whereby the Coalition committed:

--To leave open membership in the new body to all hues of the Syrian opposition

--To bring down the regime and all its symbols and mainstays, to disband the regime’s security services and to call to account those responsible for crimes against Syrians.

--Not to engage in any dialogue or negotiation with the regime

--To endorse the Joint Command of the Revolutionary Military Councils

--To form an Interim Government after receiving international recognition

--To break up and disband the Interim Government once a National General Assembly is held and a Transition Government formed.

A BBC correspondent described the Coalition's leadership as a carefully balanced team that was set to become the face and voice of the Syrian opposition in the coming phase.

The Coalition of 62 members of the opposition carries representation for ethnic Kurds, Christians, Druzes, Alawites, Muslim ulema, Turkmen, tribes and women.

Of the 62 seats, 22 – or a third plus one -- are reserved for the SNC.

Among the principal SNC representatives are George Sabra, Burhan Ghalioun, Abdelbaset Sida, and Louay Safi.

Other leading lights joining the Coalition are Michel Kilo, Haitham al-Maleh, Muntaha al-Atrash, Ali Sadreddine al-Bayanouni, Kamal Labwani and Sadiq Jalal el-Azm.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said there was “no excuse any more” for foreign governments not to support the opposition.

France, a vocal backer of the rebels and which once ruled Syria, hailed the deal. “France will work with its partners to secure international recognition of this new entity as the representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people,” Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement in which he called the Assad government “the criminal regime in Damascus.”

“We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad's bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

In London, Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "I welcome the decision to form the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. This is an important milestone in forming a broad and representative Opposition that reflects the full diversity of the Syrian people… I will travel to Cairo for a meeting of the EU and Arab League this Tuesday, which will discuss support to the new National Coalition. And on Friday the UK will host a meeting in London of donors and coalition representatives which will consider further support to the Syrian opposition at this critical time.”

The Syrian opposition’s Doha agreement

The Syrian opposition groups have initialized an agreement in Doha setting up a new coalition of forces to end the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

The new body, made up of groups inside and outside Syria, would be called the “National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.”

The agreement will be signed overnight when a new leader and his deputy would be chosen.

Following is a full translation of the initialed agreement:

1. The invitation extended by the State of Qatar in coordination with the Arab League bore fruit when the Syrian National Council and the other opposition groups attending this meeting agreed to form the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. Membership in the new body will be left open to all hues of the Syrian opposition. The Coalition’s Statutes shall make clear each side’s proportion of representation.
2. The sides agreed to bring down the regime and all its symbols and mainstays, to disband the regime’s security services and to call to account those responsible for crimes against Syrians.
3. The Coalition commits not to engage in any dialogue or negotiation with the regime.
4. The Coalition will have Statutes ready for signing once they are duly discussed and approved.
5. The Coalition will endorse the Joint Command of the Revolutionary Military Councils.
6. The Coalition will set up the Syrian National Legal Committee and issue the regulations governing its task in a special resolution.
7. The Coalition will set up technical and specialized committees required for its work. A special resolution will spell out the committees, their number and the modalities of their establishment and duties.
8. The Coalition will form an Interim Government after receiving international recognition.
9. The Coalition and Interim Government will be dissolved by a Coalition decision once the National General Assembly is held and the Transition Government formed.
10. This Agreement will not come into effect before its ratification by the sides’ relevant principals.
11. The Arab Ministerial Committee for Syria shall lodge this Agreement upon its signing with the Arab League Secretariat.

The participating Syrian opposition sides initialed this Agreement in Doha on 11 November 2012 in the presence of the head and members of the Arab Ministerial Committee.