‘Division is slowly killing the revolution’
October 30, 2013 The United Nations-backed Geneva II conference, scheduled […]
30 October 2013
October 30, 2013
The United Nations-backed Geneva II conference, scheduled for November, remains a source of division among the myriad opposition groups inside and outside Syria.
While Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly expressed his regime’s willingness to attend the conference without pre-conditions, the exiled opposition Syrian National Coalition has been indecisive and armed opposition groups inside Syria have vehemently rejected any negotiations without al-Assad’s departure as a pre-condition.
Syria Direct spoke with a number of pro-opposition activists on the ground about how their solutions for ending the Syrian war.
UN Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. Photo courtesy of UN.
Badawi al-Mugarbil, 33, is a well-known activist from Homs, where regime forces have besieged the old city for over a year.
No one inside Syria supports Geneva 2. The only easy solution is for Bashar to abdicate, give power to his vice president immediately, dissolve the security forces and pull his tanks from the streets.
If foreign nations cease supporting different factions, a military solution is possible. Today, different foreign supporters are dividing the rebels on the ground and creating disputes between them.
Ahmad, 25, is a spokesman for the Ahfad al-Rasoul Batallion, an FSA-affiliated opposition group. He lives in northern Idlib.
The crisis will end when all military battalions are united under a single command. Ahfad al-Rasoul is ready to unite with any battalion or platoon that fights on the ground.
Zaid al-Fares, 24, from the opposition controlled city al-Raqqa in eastern Syria. He was recently detained for four months by regime forces.
Any solution to the war must come from inside Syria, through uniting the ranks of the revolutionaries politically and militarily. The opposition outside Syria must do the same. Division is slowly killing the revolution.
Sawsan Hadad, 28, is a media activist in Damascus.
In my opinion, Geneva 2 will increase the division between the politicians and the rebels on the ground, especially after a number of brigades, led by Jaish al-Islam, announced their rejection of the conference.
But, the opposition must unite, go to Geneva II and present a strong, united position. Divisions among the political opposition are causing the division between the rebels. If politicians unite, the internal divisions among rebels inside Syria will decrease.
